Salmon in Sour Cream Pastry with Tarragon Dijon cream Sauce

This salmon is one of my favorite dinner party entrees because it can be prepared ahead of time and just popped into the oven for about a half hour or so before serving. I often make it the day before if I am particularly busy on the day I have guests. Such was the case yesterday when I had the grandparents and Nanny Moo invited for supper before heading off to Olivia's annual dance recital in the early evening. With an Orange-Raspberry Chocolate Buttercream Torte for dessert, it was a very well received meal by all.

The salmon can also be prepared in individual servings if you prefer.

Serves 4
1 ½ pound boneless skinless salmon fillet

Pastry:

3 cups all purpose flour
2 cups very cold butter
1 tsp salt
1 cup sour cream

Cut butter into the flour and salt with a food processor or pastry blender until mixture resembles a coarse meal. Small pieces of butter should still be visible in the mix. Stir in the sour cream to form a dough. Form dough into two rectangles, wrap in plastic and rest in the fridge for 20 minutes. You can freeze one to use at another time.

Roll one dough rectangle out to a thickness of about 1/8 inch and trim to 2 inches longer than the length of the salmon fillet and 2 inches wider than the fillet.
Place salmon on the pastry. You should trim off the tail section of the fillet and place it on the thinnest part of the fillet to get a uniform thickness along the length of the salmon.
Season the salmon with salt and pepper and a squeeze of lemon. Sprinkle the salmon with dill or tarragon. Fold the dough over the salmon and pinch the edges together to seal. Brush the top of the pastry with an egg wash of one beaten egg and 1 tbsp water. Chill for at least ½ hour before baking in a preheated 375 degree F oven for about a half hour to 40 minutes depending upon the thickness of the salmon until the pastry is a uniform golden brown.
Serve with Tarragon-Dijon Cream Sauce.

Tarragon-Dijon Cream Sauce
In a small saucepan heat
2 tbsp olive oil
3 cloves minced garlic
Cook for a minute or 2 until the garlic is translucent. Add
3 oz white wine
Simmer until volume is reduced by half. Then add:
2 cups whipping cream
3 tbsp Dijon mustard
3 tbsp fresh chopped tarragon
Salt and pepper to season.
Simmer until sauce thickens enough to coat a metal spoon.