Salmon with (My) Duxelles, Puff Pastry and Zucchini Sauce

Zucchini Sauce:

4 6 oz. salmon fillets

For serving: cooked brown rice

For duxelles: Cook onion in 1 tablespoon of butter in heavy-bottomed frying pan. Use medium heat until you hear a sizzle. Add a big pinch of salt, stir well, cover, and cook on low heat for at least 10 minutes. Stir well. Continue cooking, covered, until onions are completely soft.

Remove onions from pan and set aside. Add remaining 2 tablespoons of butter to saucepan. Stir in mushrooms and cook on medium high until browned on one side. Turn over (as well as you can) and cook the other side of the mushrooms. Don’t stir a lot so the mushrooms can get really browned.

Add the onions to the mushrooms and cook over medium heat until the mixture is fairly dry. Taste for seasoning. Purée in food processor with parsley, if using. Return to frying pan and set aside.

Cut 4 equal shapes from puff pastry – squares, circles or even rectangles. 20 minutes before serving, bake puff pastry on a baking sheet at 400°F for 15 minutes.

For zucchini sauce: Place zucchini, water and salt in small saucepan. Bring to a boil. Stir well, reduce heat to a simmer, cover and cook for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. (Zucchini will look woefully overcooked, but don’t worry. The bright green color will come back.) Pour cooked zucchini mixture into blender. Blend until smooth. (See how green it is!) Add butter and blend until smooth. The butter should be completely incorporated. Return to saucepan until ready to reheat.

Cook salmon in a baking dish at 400° F for 12 minutes. Remove from oven and cover loosely with foil.

To assemble, heat up duxelles and zucchini sauce. Place rice on the bottom of 4 plates. Place 1 salmon piece carefully on top of each plate. Spread each salmon fillet with duxelles. Carefully spoon zucchini sauce around rice. Place baked puff pastry shape on top of duxelles. Serve immediately.