DAILY DINNERS

Preheat the oven to 220C/200C Fan/Gas 7 and place a baking tray inside the oven as it heats.

Unroll the pastry on its greaseproof paper. Cut it into 4 equal-sized rectangles. Place 1 heaped tsp of the pesto into the centre of each rectangle. Cut each salmon fillet in half widthways and place the two halves, side by side, in the centre of each pastry rectangle, on top of the pesto.

Brush the edges of each pastry rectangle with the milk, then fold the edges over themselves to create open parcels, pinching the corners to seal. Brush the exposed pastry with a little more milk. Squeeze a little lemon juice over each piece of salmon, and season, to taste, with freshly ground black pepper.

 Arrange the salmon-and-pesto parcels onto the tray, then bake them in the oven for 20-25 mins, or until the pastry has risen and is golden-brown, and the salmon is cooked through.

For the vegetable rice, 10 mins before the salmon-and-pesto parcels finish cooking, cook the rice in boiling water for 10 mins. Meanwhile, cook the vegetables in a saucepan of boiling water for 2-3 mins, or until piping hot throughout. Drain in a colander, then mix with the rice.

To serve, divide the vegetable rice equally among four warmed serving plates, as well as the salmon-and-pesto parcels. Garnish with the basil leaves, if using.

Recipe tips

 It’s easy to double up the ingredients for this pesto salmon tart recipe. Just add an extra 5 mins if you are baking more than 4 parcels at a time.

You can use regular basil pesto instead of sun-dried tomato pesto.

You can substitute the salmon fillets for any frozen skinless fish fillets: smoked-haddock fillets served with poached eggs and asparagus work well.

This dish is not suitable for freezing.

These parcels are also delicious served cold at picnics or in packed lunches. Top with a dollop of mayonnaise and serve with salad.