On The Origin of Posh Teas

Friday has become "posh tea" night in our house.  I grew up with the idea of posh teas because on a Saturday the strict rule of the whole family eating together was broken when my parents would give my sister and I an early dinner and shunt us off to watch typical Saturday night TV like Casualty and the Lottery whilst they cooked something special, got the nice plates and cutlery out and enjoyed a glass of wine or five.  When we were older my sister and I joined in this magical "posh tea" and the name has stuck with both of us.  Mr B was introduced to the concept almost as soon as I met him and because I don't work on Fridays I can spend the whole day planning and shopping for a nice meal! 

This week was a relatively simple affair of salmon en croute.  Simple perhaps, but effective on a plate, and the wrap of puff pastry is a flakey delight.  And to lighten the meal, I served it with a warm bean salad which also adds a fantastic splash of green on the plate.

Individual salmon, goats cheese and dill en croutes with a warm bean salad (serves 2)

The name of the en croute pretty much gives away the ingredients you will need: 

Two salmon fillets

75g soft goats cheese

handful of fresh dill

Half a block of puff pastry - I think this is around 200g

1 beaten egg

salt and pepper

                                               

1) In a small bowl mix together the goats cheese, dill and a bit of salt and pepper until combined.

2) Slice the salmon fillets in half and spread half the goats cheese on one half of each fillet.  Replace the top parts of the fillets.

3) Roll out the puff pastry (remember, it will probably need to sit at room temperature for 20 minutes before you do this).  It needs to be relatively thin or else you won't have enough to go round your salmon and it will be thick and stodgy when cooked.  Place a salmon fillet on the pastry and cut aound it, leaving an extra half inch of pastry all the way round.   You then need to roll out a piece of pastry for the top which is large enough to completely cover the salmon. 

4) Take your beaten egg and brush it round the edges of the bottom piece of pastry, then place the top piece of pastry over the salmon and press the edges onto the bottom pastry using a fork.  Slash the top with a sharp knife but be careul not to go all the way through the pastry.  Repeat with the second piece of salmon. You can leave these covered in the fridge for up to a day or rest them in the fridge whilst the oven is heating up to 180C. 

5) Before you put the en croutes in the oven, brush the tops with some of the remaining egg, so they turn a lovely golden colour when cooked.  Cook for 25 minutes until the pastry is puffed and golden.

The Warm Salad (serves 2)

100g mangetout (you could also use green beans or sugar snap peas)

100g broad beans (I used frozen ones)

6 spring onions, finely sliced

glug of olive oil

1) Bring a pan of salted water to the boil.

2) Add the frozen broad beans and cook for 3 minutes

3) Add the mangetout and cook for a further 2 minutes

4) Drain the beans and then return them to the pan with the olive oil and spring onion.  Cook on a slightly lower heat for a minute or so until the oil and spring onions are warm. You could also add some lemon juice at this point if you wished.

Serve the salmon and salad on warmed plates and enjoy your "posh (but simple) tea".  We had ours with tulips on the table and a bottle of cava.  Perfect :-)