Salmon en Croute with Chive Creme Fraiche

FOR CREME FRAICHE: In a mixing bowl stir together whipping cream and sour cream. Cover with plastic wrap. Let stand at room temperature for 2-5 hours, or till mixture thickens. When thickened, stir in chives, cover, and chill till serving time or for up to 1 week. Stir before serving.

FOR SALMON: Cook spinach according to package directions. Drain well, squeezing to remove excess liquid. In a medium saucepan cook onion in margarine or butter about 5 minutes or till tender but not brown. Stir in spinach, bread crumbs, 1 egg, lemon peel, and salt. Set aside. In a large skillet bring 2 cups water to boiling. Carefully add salmon. Return just to boiling. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, for 4 minutes. Remove fish; pat dry (fish will not be done). Sprinkle fish with a little additional salt.

Prepare pastry as directed and divide into 2 pieces, one piece about a third larger than the other. Lay fillets side by side with long sides just touching. Measure total length and width of fillets. On a lightly floured surface roll the smaller portion of pastry to a size about 2 inches longer and wider than the fish fillets. Transfer pastry to an ungreased baking sheet. Spread half of the filling to within 1 inch of the edges of pastry. Place fillets on top of filling, placing long sides together as directed above. Spread remaining filling evenly over both fillets. Roll out remaining pastry. Combine 1 egg and water; brush onto edges of bottom pastry. Place remaining pastry over fish and filling to cover. Evenly trim all edges, reserving scraps. (If desired, trim pastry to the shape of a large fish). Seal edges with the tines of a fork or crimp edges. Reroll scraps and cut into decorations, if desired. Brush the top of the crust with some remaining egg mixture, decorate with pastry cutouts, then brush cutouts with egg mixture; make slits in top of pastry. Bake in a preheated 400 degrees F oven for 20-25 minutes, or till internal temperature is 160 degrees F. Serve with chive creme fraiche.