The salmon pastries are an appetizer made with puff pastry: elegant, easy, and quick to prepare. They will make a great impression at the table, especially during Christmas holidays. If you are looking for a simple recipe for your menus, these salmon and ricotta pastries are just what you need. They are prepared in just a few minutes and can also be made a little in advance.
It’s known that at Christmas, a lot of cooking is done, so there is always a need to find tasty ideas for quick Christmas appetizers. These salmon and ricotta pastries are exactly what you are looking for, especially because during the holidays, salmon recipes are very popular.
The filling of these puff pastry salmon and ricotta pastries is creamy and delicate, made with fresh salmon and ricotta. These snacks are perfect not only during the Christmas holidays but are ideal for an aperitif, a buffet, a dinner with friends, and especially as an appetizer in case of a fish menu. During the Christmas period, salmon pastries are a real trump card: they go well with seafood dishes and other fish appetizers.
For this recipe, I used fresh salmon, which has a more delicate flavor than smoked salmon. However, if you want, you can use smoked, shrimps, tuna, or mackerel in oil. You can also flavor the filling with a little lemon zest for freshness, or with some chopped parsley.
They are excellent served hot, freshly baked, but also warm or at room temperature. That’s why they can be prepared in advance: this is a very important aspect when you have to organize a slightly more demanding lunch or dinner. You just need to cook them shortly before serving or heat them quickly to regain all their fragrance.
Preparing them is very simple. I wanted to give these salmon puff pastries a round shape, but if you want to create fewer cutouts, you can also give your salmon and ricotta pastries a square, triangular shape or create bundles.
Well, let’s move on to the recipe and see together how to prepare these delicious and easy salmon pastries. In the meantime, I leave you here with other tasty recipes that might be useful, especially during the holiday season.
- Difficulty: Very easy
- Cost: Economical
- Preparation time: 20 Minutes
- Portions: 6People
- Cooking methods: Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: New Year's Eve, Christmas
- Energy 383.81 (Kcal)
- Carbohydrates 22.39 (g) of which sugars 0.72 (g)
- Proteins 11.78 (g)
- Fat 27.73 (g) of which saturated 6.07 (g)of which unsaturated 17.49 (g)
- Fibers 1.07 (g)
- Sodium 405.50 (mg)
Indicative values for a portion of 98 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 for preparing salmon and ricotta pastries
- 1 sheet puff pastry
- 5.3 oz salmon
- 5.3 oz ricotta (well-drained)
- to taste chopped parsley
- to taste salt
- to taste pepper
- 2 tbsps Pecorino Romano (optional)
- to taste extra virgin olive oil
- to taste poppy seeds (or sesame seeds)
Tools for preparing salmon pastries
- Cookie cutter round 2.4 inches
- Knife
- Baking trays
- Pan
Steps to prepare salmon and ricotta pastries
Let’s see together the procedure to prepare these delicious salmon and ricotta puff pastries.
First, cook the salmon. Choose the filet or the center slices. Alternatively, you can also use frozen salmon fillets, which are already cleaned and ready to be cooked and used.
Boil it quickly in a little salted water or steam it. If you prefer to make it more flavorful, you can cook it for a few minutes in a pan cut into pieces with a little oil, salt, pepper, and chopped parsley.
Once ready, let it cool and then crumble it well with your hands or a fork.
Transfer the crumbled salmon to a bowl. Add the ricotta, salt, pepper, a bit of fresh chopped parsley, the grated cheese, and mix until you have a homogeneous mixture.
If you use smoked salmon, be careful with the salt, as smoked salmon is very salty.
Roll out the puff pastry sheet on a work surface and with a cookie cutter about 2.4 inches cut out circles in even numbers. If you don’t have a cookie cutter, use a not too large glass.
Re-knead the scraps, roll out the dough again, and create more discs until the dough is used up.
Place a teaspoon of filling in the center on half of the circles you obtained.
On the other half, make two small cuts in the center with the knife and cover your salmon pastries, matching the edges and sealing them well with your fingers.
Brush the surface with a little olive oil and sprinkle them with poppy seeds. You can also use sesame seeds or both.
Bake in preheated ventilated oven at 356°F for about 15-20 minutes. The salmon pastries will be cooked when their surface is well golden.
Storage and tips:
– Like all puff pastry preparations, salmon pastries should be eaten freshly made or at most within a few hours. Puff pastry, over time, absorbs the moisture from the filling and tends to become soft.
– If you have leftovers, you can heat them for 5-6 minutes in the oven or air fryer at 212°F.
– To have crispy and well-layered pastries, put them in the refrigerator already on the tray for 30 minutes. Then transfer them directly into the hot oven.
– If you prefer, you can omit the grated cheese or use Parmesan for a milder taste.
– Make sure to remove the skin and all the bones before cooking the fresh salmon. It would not be pleasant to find some bones in the filling!
FAQ (Questions and Answers)
What can I use instead of fresh salmon?
If you don’t like fresh salmon, you can use smoked salmon, canned tuna, or mackerel. You can also use frozen salmon. In this case, make sure to thaw it completely before cooking.
Can I replace the ricotta?
Yes, it can be replaced with spreadable cheese, stracchino, robiola, and other soft cheeses. You can also use semi-aged cheeses chopped and mixed with the salmon.
Can puff pastry pastries be prepared in advance?
Yes, you can prepare the filling even a day in advance and store it in the refrigerator. You can also assemble the pastries a few hours before and keep them in the fridge already on the baking tray.
Can salmon pastries be prepared in the air fryer?
Yes, just place them in the basket without overlapping and cook at 338°F for about 10 minutes. It’s always good to check in the last minutes of cooking if the pastries are golden. The times may vary depending on the model and size of the air fryer.
