Salmon en Papillote Recipe

This recipe was inspired by the presents under my tree. I like to use brown paper for all my gift giving, but I tie them up with fancy ribbon and hand letter the recipient’s name directly on the paper. This dish is cooked inside a parchment paper packet. Parchment paper comes in white and brown, and the color makes no difference in the outcome. Heck, just like gift bags, you can even purchase parchment paper bags for cooking in.

The traditional Salmon en Papillote, or Salmon in Paper, recipe calls for lemon, but for this one tried to stick with a green theme for the companion ingredients since it is a Christmas inspired dish. The fish rests on a little bed of green beans, which reminds me of a raft. There are some green onions mixed in with the green beans, which remind me of seaweed. I live by the beach, so that is where my brain is.

One benefit of this dish is that it can make one serving or as many as you need, and everyone gets to open the present at the dinner table. Bonus points for the parchment paper saving a ton of time in cleaning up.

Salmon en Papillote Recipe

Ingredients:

1 (6-ounce) portion Pride of Bristol Bay Wild Salmon

½ lime (or 1 key lime)

1 serving uncooked green beans, trimmed

1 green onion, trimmed and sliced

½ tablespoon butter

1 small sprig fresh dill

1 sprig fresh thyme

Salt & Pepper for seasoning

Parchment Paper about 12” square (or a parchment paper bag)

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 350. Meanwhile, wash and trim the vegetables. Then cut the lime so you have a slice from the middle (or two if a tiny/key lime), and juice the rest.

Remove the skin from the salmon portion which is much like ripping a piece of duct tape off of something - you will need to give it a tug and it may come in one piece or you might have to go at it again for any remaining skin.

Place the vegetables on the parchment paper, just off center a bit. Add the Pride of Bristol Bay Wild Salmon on top of the vegetables. Season the fish with salt and pepper (or any other seasoning blend you like to use). Tuck half of the butter under the fish and the other half on top. Place the lime slice and fresh herbs on top of the fish, drizzle the lime juice over your pile of ingredients. Fold the parchment paper over so that opposite corners meet, making a triangle. Then, starting at one corner near the fold, start folding the edge over to create a crimped edge until you get to the other side of the fold — sort of like the edge of a calzone crust. The key is to try and get an air tight package which will steam the contents.

Add the package to the oven on a baking sheet. It might puff up in the oven, and that means that you got a good seal. Remove after 13-15 minutes. Carefully move the package from the baking sheet onto a plate for serving. Opening the package is half the fun, just be mindful of any steam if it is puffed up.

Serves 1 but easily increased to make as many as you need.

AUTHOR PROFILE

Nancy Ingersoll is a recipe developer and food photographer in San Diego, California. Always up for adventure, she learned the art of sauces and soufflés from one of James Beard Award winner Roy’s Yamaguchi’s executive chefs, and her curious spirit has been fed with cooking classes domestically and abroad. Nancy is also known as The Creative Resource and you can find her work on nancyingersoll.com and on instagram as @thecreativeresource.