How to Cook En Croute Puff Pastry

Method

En Croute describes the wrapping of a filling such as steak, salmon, chicken etc. in puff pastry and sealing it well to make for a moistly cooked filling encased in crisp, golden pastry.

• 1. Roll out the puff pastry as described in the pages ‘Rolling out Puff Pastry’, and cut into the desired size as stated in the recipe.
  2. Lay the filling on one half of the pastry – leaving a good border all round.
  3. Brush the pastry edges lightly with beaten egg – note -do not use too much egg as this will make it difficult to seal.
  4. Bring up the uncovered half of the pastry and fold it over the filling.
  5. Press edges firmly together.
  6. With a sharp knife trim off the edges to allow for a good rise.
  7. Then knock up the edges by holding the knife horizontally and taping it gently against the cut edges. This again helps to both seal the pastry and gives a good, risen edge.
  8. Flute the cut edges of the en croute as described in the Puff Pie tops and decorating section.
  9. Make a couple of slashes or slits in the top pastry to allow the steam to escape and brush the top with beaten egg before baking.