I guess it says something about how many different dishes I cook and recipes I try: I realized that the salmon dish I prepared last Friday, which is one of my favorite ways to make salmon, I hadn’t cooked for almost a year and a half. I wrote a post about it then, but given the length of time and the number of new subscribers, I figured a repost was in order.
As I said in my initial post, phyllo-wrapped salmon looks a lot more complicated than it is. It’s definitely dinner party-worthy, but still easy enough for a weeknight.
This recipe is from The Smartpoints Cookbook, Weight Watchers cookbook. WW used to publish a couple cookbooks each year, but they stopped seven or eight years ago, I think. I know it was while I was still a member and going to meetings, so it had to be pre-Covid. The quality of the books and their recipes was uneven, but this book was one of the best. There are several recipes in it that we’ve made more than once.
The recipe is essentially an adaptation of Wellington, using salmon instead of beef. There’s a mushroom and onion topping, although this time I just used mushrooms. It was still good, but of all the recipes I’ve made recently where I’ve omitted any onions to meet Ken’s restrictions, this is the one that missed them most. As I said, though, it was still yummy.
I always cut the recipe in half, since it’s for 8 servings and uses a 2-pound fillet. Because it was just the two of us, I actually had just a 3/4- pound piece of fish. As I started folding the bottom layers of phyllo dough around the fillet, I decided to use one and one-half sheets of phyllo for the top, folding the one over so that I still had three layers. I didn’t have so much excess dough around the fish. The picture from the first post probably looks prettier, with its carefully folded and crimped edges, but this worked perfectly and tasted delicious. My other change to the recipe is to brush the phyllo layers with a bit of melted butter. Obviously, a Weight Watcher recipe is trying to cut fat and calories, but spraying the layers with cooking spray created an off taste, I thought. And there’s no question that fat tastes good 😊
Phyllo-Wrapped Salmon Fillet
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 shallot, minced
- 1 onion, chopped
- 8 ounces mushrooms, sliced
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 tablespoon finely grated lemon zest
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 6 sheets phyllo, thawed if frozen
- 2 tablespoons butter, melted
- 1 pound skinless salmon fillet
Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
Heat oil in a nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add shallot and onion. Cook, stirring occasionally, until golden brown, about 5 minutes. Add mushrooms and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Cook until almost dry, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes. Stir in lemon zest and lemon juice.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Place one sheet of phyllo on the baking sheet and lightly brush with melted butter. Cover with second sheet and repeat, then again with a third sheet. Place salmon on phyllo and sprinkle with remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt and pepper. Place mushroom mixture on top of fish. Wrap phyllo over fish, Repeat layering and brushing with butter with three more sheets of phyllo, covering the fish and mushrooms topping. Wrap around fish to cover completely
Bake fish until phyllo crisps and browns and fish inside is cooked through (145 degrees on instant read thermometer), checking at 20 minutes. Serves 4.
I steamed some thin asparagus for a side, and thawed a couple of brioche rolls we had in the freezer. We really enjoyed dinner, and vowed that we’re not waiting a year and a half to do this again.
Happy eating!
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