Salmon In Phyllo: An Impressive Drool-Worthy Entree That Takes 15 Minutes To Bake

Salmon in phyllo is a seafood take-off on Beef Wellington. Buttered sheets of paper-thin phyllo pastry dough take the place of puff pastry to give a lighter balance to the delicate flavor of the salmon. The phyllo pounces are stuffed with a layer of seasoned cream cheese and spinach. Although it may sound like a difficult gourmet dish, this is really quite easy to make. It makes an impressive presentation on the plate and truly wows the tastebuds. You’ll want to save this one as a go-to recipe for any special occasion or just something different for the family.

• You Might Also Like: Parmesan Salmon with Herbs Recipe

Phyllo (also called “filo” or “fillo”) dough sheets are normally stocked in the frozen food section of most markets, near the frozen bread dough and pie pastry. Most commercial phyllo will come in a box with 2 separate packets of sealed phyllo. You will only need 1 packet. Removed the one packet to thaw and return the other in the box to the freezer for other use.

Salmon in Phyllo Recipe

Spinach Cheese Stuffing:
8 ounces fresh baby spinach leaves
4 ounces (1 small block) cream cheese, at room temperature
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon granulated garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon granulated onion powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon lemon pepper
1 cup fresh bread crumbs (2 slices of standard white bread, pulsed in the food processor)

For the Salmon:
1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 Tablespoon white wine, optional
1 Tablespoon melted butter
1/2 teaspoon dried dill weed
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon lemon pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon Hungarian sweet paprika
1 pound salmon filet, skin removed (wild-raised salmon is best)

12 sheets phyllo dough, thawed in the refrigerator (I use Athens brand-see Notes)
4 Tablespoons melted butter (see Notes)

• You Might Also Like: Salmon Asiago Casserole Recipe

Remove any stems from the baby spinach leaves and place in the bowl of a food processor. Add the cream cheese, egg, garlic powder, onion powder, and salt. Pulse unto the spinach is chopped and mixture is combined, taking care not to chop it too finely. You want some decent-sized strips of spinach. Stir in bread crumbs by hand. Set aside.

Cut the salmon into 4 equal pieces. Whisk together lemon juice and white wine. Pour over the salmon and top with melted butter. In a separate bowl, whisk together dill weed, onion powder, lemon pepper, salt, garlic powder, and sweet paprika. Sprinkle salmon with the seasoning mixture.

Preheat oven to 400 F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with non-stick foil and coat with butter-flavored vegetable spray.

• You Might Also Like: Salmon Kebabs in the Oven Recipe

Remove the phyllo dough from the wrapper and keep covered with plastic wrap or a lightly dampened paper towel to keep moist (see Notes). For each piece of salmon, brush 1 piece of phyllo with butter. Repeat and layer phyllo, buttering each in between, making a rectangle 3 sheets deep. Place each seasoned salmon piece cross-wise in the center of the phyllo, seasoned side down. Top with 1/4 of the spinach stuffing. Fold up the long sides of the phyllo to cover the salmon ends, then fold up the short ends. Roll up like a burrito. Place on prepared pan with seam-side down. Brush with butter or spray with butter-flavored vegetable oil.

Bake on the center rack in the preheated oven for 15 to 20 minutes, depending upon the thickness of the salmon, until golden.

Yield: 4 servings

You Might Also Like: Teriyaki Glazed Salmon Recipe

Notes:
• It is extremely important to keep the phyllo dough covered in between each step of buttering the sheets. The papery sheets are extremely thin and will dry out in a matter of minutes, causing them to become brittle and tear.

• If you are feeling lazy, substitute butter-flavored vegetable oil spray when layering the phyllo dough. It won’t be quite as rich in flavor, but the preparation will go much, much faster.