Steelhead en Croute

Ingredients

This recipe uses two stacked NY steelhead filet pieces with a savory spinach and mushroom filling, wrapped in buttery puff pastry dough.  

  • 1 lb. (boneless and skinless***) New York Steelhead fillet
  • 4 tablespoons Unsalted butter
  • 1 cup (thinly sliced) Button mushrooms
  • 1/4 pound Washed Spinach
  • 1/2 cup (diced small) Leeks
  • 2 tablespoons (chopped small) Fresh Dill
  • 1 Lemon zest
  • 1/2 Lemon juice
  • 1/2 lb. rolled to 10"x10" - 1/8inch thick Pre-made puff pastry
  • 1 Egg
  • 1tsp Salt and pepper each

Method:

  1. Heat a large saute pan over high heat. Add 2 tbsp butter, let it melt, then quickly add all of the spinach, season lightly with salt and pepper, cook 2 - 4 minutes, stirring until spinach is wilted and tender. Remove the spinach and let cool. Once cool, squeeze the spinach to remove all the liquid. Chop the spinach finely and transfer to a medium bowl.
  2. Heat a medium saute pan over high heat, add 2 tbsp of butter, let it melt, add mushrooms and leeks, season with salt and pepper, cook, stirring occasionally for 4-5 minutes until tender and fragrant.
  3. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the mushroom and leeks to the bowl of chopped spinach. Add chopped dill, lemon zest and lemon juice. Mix well to combine. Let the filling cool completely.
  4. Lay the Steelhead trout filet flat on a cutting board and cut in half through the center of filet into two equal size pieces. Season both sides of the filet generously with salt and pepper.
  5. Line a large baking pan with parchment paper or aluminum foil. Lay your 10” x 10” sheet of puff pastry onto the center of the baking pan. Place one piece of the fish in the center of the dough. Pile the spinach, mushroom leek mixture covering the whole filet then cover it with the remaining fish on top, fatty side down. Gently fold up the sides of the dough, leaving a gap in the middle, so you can see the fish. Fold and tuck the dough under at the ends and press down the dough with the tines of a fork to seal well.
  6. Beat the egg in a small bowl. Brush the pastry with the beaten egg. Place the Steelhead trout in pastry to the refrigerator for 15 minutes to allow the dough to chill before baking.
  7. Preheat the oven to 400 F. Remove the baking tray from the refrigerator and place it on the center rack in the oven. Bake at 400 F for 20 minutes. Reduce the temperature to 375F for another 15 minutes or until the dough is puffed and golden brown.
  8. Remove the fish from the oven and carefully transfer to a cooling rack until you are ready to serve. Cut thick slices and garnish with sprigs of dill and wedges of lemon.
  9. Serve with Salsa Verde or Lemon Beurre Blanc.

***If your NY Steelhead trout is skin-on, you will need to remove the skin before preparing the fish for baking.  This can be easily done by placing the fillet, skin-side down, on a cutting board.  Holding the tail end firmly, use a sharp knife to make a cut between the flesh and skin starting at the opposite side of the fillet. Holding the end tightly, continue to cut along the length of the fillet (take care not to cut through the skin). Remove and discard skin. ***