SAVORY SALMON TART WITH PHYLLO DOUGH
I love savory pies but I had never tried making one with fish. Then I tasted this version with fresh salmon and vegetables at a friend’s house and fell in love with it.
Why will you like it? Because of its light and crispy Phyllo Dough crust that contrasts with the soft and creamy filling, for its ease of preparation, because you won’t have to knead or wait for rising times (it goes straight into the oven!), and obviously because it is delicious!
The Salmon Tart with spinach and peas is a kind of rustic dish with a Phyllo Dough crust containing a filling of Spinach, Peas, Leek, Ricotta, and Salmon.
It may seem like a complicated recipe, but it’s actually very simple. You just need to prepare the various components in advance and “assemble” them at the last minute before baking it, and you’ll get a result to savor. Everyone will love it, even those who do not particularly like fish.
To prepare it, you will just need to boil fresh spinach and peas, lightly cook the leek, and mix them with a blend of ricotta and Greek yogurt (or just ricotta or crème fraîche). Meanwhile, lightly cook the fresh salmon in a pan or in the oven. Once cooked, roughly crumble it and add it to the vegetable and ricotta mixture. Create a crust in the baking dish with the phyllo dough and bake.
You will bring to the table a SAVORY PIE with SALMON and VEGETABLES, a bit different from usual, delicious but light, perfect also for a buffet, as an appetizer (cut into small squares), as a hearty second course, or as a main dish accompanied by a lovely salad.
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Medium
- Preparation time: 30 Minutes
- Portions: 6 – 8
- Cooking methods: Oven, Stovetop
- Cuisine: Italian
- Energy 281.31 (Kcal)
- Carbohydrates 12.90 (g) of which sugars 4.06 (g)
- Proteins 19.21 (g)
- Fat 17.65 (g) of which saturated 7.77 (g)of which unsaturated 8.30 (g)
- Fibers 3.79 (g)
- Sodium 156.06 (mg)
Indicative values for a portion of 150 g processed in an automated way starting from the nutritional information available on the CREA* and FoodData Central** databases. It is not food and / or nutritional advice.
* CREATES Food and Nutrition Research Center: https://www.crea.gov.it/alimenti-e-nutrizione https://www.alimentinutrizione.it ** U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov
Ingredients
- 14 oz salmon
- 1 leek
- 3 tbsp butter
- 2 cups peas (fresh or frozen)
- 14 oz baby spinach
- 1 cup ricotta
- 1/4 cup Greek yogurt
- 3 tbsp chopped parsley
- 2 tsp dill (chopped optional)
- 1 lemon zest (grated)
- 4 sheets phyllo dough
- extra virgin olive oil (for brushing)
Tools
- Bowl
- Frying Pan
- Pot
- Baking Dish
Steps
Preheat the oven to 392°F. Line a baking dish with foil and place the salmon pieces on top. Lightly season them with extra virgin olive oil and a pinch of salt. Bake for about 15 minutes, they don’t need to be fully cooked as they will finish cooking as part of the filling.
Clean the leek, discarding the root and the top part of the leaves. Cut it into pieces about 1/8 inch thick, then wash it thoroughly in cold water and dry it.
Melt the butter in a large pot, add the leek, cover and cook on low heat until they are soft but not browned.Add the peas to the leeks and cook for another 2 minutes. Turn off the heat. Mix the ricotta with the Greek yogurt in a bowl until completely combined. Pour the cheese mixture into the pot with leeks and peas, then season with salt and pepper. Add the herbs and lemon zest as well.
Wash the spinach and place them, still wet, in a medium-sized pan over high heat, cover with a lid and steam for a couple of minutes. Stir the leaves, cover, and steam again for another two minutes until the leaves are softened. Remove the spinach from the heat, drain the excess water, and squeeze almost dry. Roughly chop them with a knife. Add them to the pot with leeks, peas, and cheese, and stir.
Take the salmon and flake it into small pieces with your hands, add it to the prepared mixture and mix, being careful not to break up the fish, the pieces should still be visibly large in the filling.
Place a sheet of phyllo dough at the bottom of a rectangular baking dish (12 inches x 8 inches), then brush with melted butter, lay a second sheet of phyllo on top and brush with more butter. Transfer the salmon filling over the dough, then cover with one sheet of phyllo dough, brush with butter and finish with a final sheet of dough. Brush the surface of the Savory Pie and bake. Cook in the oven at 410°F for about 20-25 minutes until the crust is nicely golden.
NOTES
PHYLLO DOUGH: You buy it in the refrigerator section of the supermarket, usually next to the puff pastry. You can replace it with puff pastry or pie crust, but you won’t get an equally crispy and light result.
EXTRA VIRGIN OLIVE OIL: For brushing the phyllo dough sheets, I used oil which can be replaced with melted butter.
SALMON: For this recipe, I used fresh Salmon Fillets, but frozen ones work as well. Make sure there are no leftover bones before adding them to the mixture.
SPINACH: In this case, fresh spinach gives a better result. After blanching, squeeze them by hand to remove excess water. Alternatively, frozen spinach can also be used.
PEAS: You can use fresh peas, frozen peas, or canned peas; I preferred the latter as they shorten the preparation time.
RICOTTA: The original recipe called for the use of Crème Fraîche, but since it is not easy to find in supermarkets and to lighten the Savory Pie, I opted for a mix of ricotta and yogurt, reminiscent in taste and texture of Crème Fraîche.
LEEK: Do not omit this ingredient even if it seems unimportant, it gives the preparation a special taste and pairs perfectly with the Salmon.
PARSLEY: Instead of chopped parsley, dill also works well with salmon.
STORAGE
The Savory Pie with Fresh Salmon and vegetables, once ready, can be stored in the fridge for up to 2 days in an airtight container. Before eating it again, I recommend heating it a bit in a regular oven to regain the crispiness of the crust (the microwave oven would tend to make it even soggier).
FAQ (Questions and Answers)
How fatty is phyllo dough?
100 grams of Phyllo Dough contain about 300 calories and 6 grams of fat. Phyllo dough is low in cholesterol (0 mg) and high in sodium (483 mg) with a protein content of 7 grams per 100 grams of product.
How many sheets of phyllo are in a package?
A package of Phyllo Dough usually contains 10 to 12 sheets. Phyllo Dough or phyllo, from the Greek meaning “leaf,” is a variety of puff pastry made in very thin separate sheets. Extremely versatile, it features reduced cooking times.
What’s the difference between puff pastry and phyllo dough?
People often confuse phyllo dough with puff pastry. The main difference is that phyllo dough does not contain butter, but oil, making it lighter. Additionally, due to its extremely thin layers stacked on top of one another, its cooking is extremely fast.
