Things to do with salmon

I have a friend who used to reckon she could get her kids to eat anything so long as it was disguised as spaghetti bolognaise. All sorts of vegetables sneaked past their unsuspecting lips, plus mince made from every animal known to man and even quorn. Where she did come unstuck though was when she tried to up their intake of oily fish and made a “bolognaise” from salmon. To me it seemed like a huge waste of salmon and the kids were certainly not fooled.
Unless you are catering to the palate of a fussy four year old why disguise such a delicious fish? If you want to stick with the pasta theme so well beloved by my friend, why not try a salmon and fennel pasta? It is easy and quick to prepare. Just poach two salmon fillets and some sliced fennel in white wine. Mix the salmon and fennel with some crème fraiche and herbs and serve with the pasta of your choice. Fresh herbs are good but if you have a store cupboard full of Schwartz dried herbs you can use them instead. Mint and parsley are particularly good in this dish.
Another favourite salmon dish of mine is salmon wellington or salmon en croute to give it its French name. In its simplest form salmon en croute is just salmon in puff pastry. Some recipes use fried mushrooms on top of the salmon whilst Gordon Ramsay uses mushrooms with mascarpone, parmesan and chives to top the salmon. My recipe, which I have been using for years and has never failed to hit the spot, makes a mousse of smoked salmon, cream cheese and fresh tarragon to put between the top of the salmon and the pastry. Tarragon is one of the herbs that many supermarkets either fail to stock or run out of so I have been known to use dried tarragon which if anything gives a more intense flavour. I have also used the low fat cream cheese when trying to watch my weight. Regardless of the tweaking at the edges the recipe is one that come back to again and again with delicious results.