Smoked Salmon Pastries
Makes about 15.
By Dennis W. Viau; one of my original ideas.
If you don’t mind working with phyllo dough and Béchamel sauce, you can make these elegant and delicious pastries without a lot of difficulty. They would be appropriate as an appetizer or for a stylish luncheon buffet.
Ingredients:
1½ tablespoons butter; preferably clarified
2½ tablespoons all-purpose flour; divided
1½ cups (355ml) milk
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg (or from a spice bottle)
1/8 teaspoon white pepper
3 ounces (85g) peas; fresh or frozen
1 ounce (28g) Gruyère cheese; finely shredded
5 ounces smoked salmon; chopped fine
Salt to taste
1 package (1 pound/454g) phyllo dough sheets
¼ cup butter; melted (more as needed)
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil (more as needed)
Sesame seeds for garnish
Directions:
For the Béchamel: Make a roux by melting 1½ tablespoons butter in a small saucepan and adding the flour. Stir over medium heat about 1 minute. Remove from the heat and allow to cool a few minutes. Stir in the nutmeg and white pepper. Add the milk, combine, and return to the heat. Bring to a boil and reduce the heat to low. Stir constantly for 10 minutes, until the sauce reaches the “coats a spoon” state. Remove from the heat and cover the surface carefully with plastic wrap to prevent a skin developing. Set aside until needed.
Melt the remaining 1 tablespoon of butter in a second saucepan and add the peas. Cover and let cook over low heat for six minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool.
Assemble the filling: Combine the Béchamel, Gruyère cheese, peas, and smoked salmon in a bowl. Taste for salt.
Assemble the pastries: Combine the ¼ cup melted butter and the olive oil in a small bowl. Place a sheet of phyllo dough on a work surface. Brush the surface lightly with the butter/oil mixture. Place a second sheet of phyllo dough on top and brush along the long center with oil. Place a generous spoonful of filling in the center toward one end of the pastry. Fold in one of the long sides to cover the filling. Brush with fat and fold in the other side (the pastry will be folded in thirds the long way). Brush again with fat. Fold over the end to enclose the pastry, then fold up the pastry, alternating the angle to form a triangle, wrapping up the filling until you finish at the other end. Arrange on a baking dish with the final flap of pastry on the bottom. Brush with fat and sprinkle with sesame seeds.
Bake in the upper third of a 400°F (200°C) oven for 5 minutes. Place under the broiler for 2 to 3 minutes longer, watching closely, for additional browning. Serve warm.