Salmon en papillote (Salmon in parchment)

by Jessie on October 18, 2010

A simple grilled steak in the skillet, seasoned with salt and pepper this past weekend, reminded me that sometimes simple is better. Using kosher or sea salt brings out the natural tendencies of any meat, which is really quite refreshing. Hence, when I decided to cook salmon last night, instead of using the fancy five-spice powder that the recipe had suggested or adding shallots to the mix, I stuck with the basic two ingredients one would always find in her pantry. The result was a delicate and light balance that paired so well with a fresh spinach salad.

The finished result. And obviously, the sun had set by then…

Last Wednesday, I attended a cooking demo (courtesy of my employer) and the chef, Steve, cooked a five course meal from start to finish. We arrived famished and left not only feeling full, but with plenty of ideas for dinner. One of my favorite dishes was the salmon, which was cooked in parchment paper. It’s actually quite a popular dish and I first had it back in Sydney during a six course meal. It came in the form of a giant Cornish Pasty, puffy and all. Then the water poked a hole into the parchment and Angela and I watched it deflate with our astonished eyes. It was a moment not to be forgotten.

So you can imagine my excitement when I found out this was on the menu. First, to make it clear to everyone, parchment paper is not wax paper. Don’t make the same mistake I did by baking with wax paper. I still remember sniffing around while asking myself, why does it smell like something is burning in here? A few moments later, I looked at the smoke billowing from the oven and my roommate screaming at me to call someone because I was going to set the apartment on fire (don’t worry, we’re both still alive)! Anyway, parchment paper is paper coated with silicone and is perfect safe for baking up to ~400 degrees. That’s why it’s a bit more expensive, running around $5-7 per roll.

The true name of this dish is Salmon en Papillote (French for in parchment), although aluminum foil may be used. The purpose of the paper is to hold in moisture to steam the food. Generally, fish and poultry are used along with seasoning. Once sealed, the steam within the pouch naturally cooks the meat inside. You’ll find that most people seal the paper with a series of folds, but using twine is not uncommon either. Steve taught us how to fold the parchment to seal it up and I think it makes for a more dramatic effect.

This dish is easy and perfect when cooking for picky eaters. I won’t lie though- it does take some time to prepare, but it would make for some great bonding time with the family. Since each eater receives her own parchment, you can easily omit ingredients that picky eaters detest. Best of all, in the case of salmon, it only takes 8-10 minutes to cook (in a toaster oven too!).

I prepared six ahead of time, with plans of just throwing the pouches into the fridge, and then popping them into the oven before work. That way, in the eight minutes that I usually take to get ready, I’ll have fresh salmon for my salad. It also works well in terms of heating up in the microwave (for under a minute) without becoming too dry since all the juices are sealed within the paper. Try it with a spinach and a simple olive oil dressing with craisins tossed in. It’s the best.

Salmon en Papillote (Salmon in Parchment)

Ingredients:

Salmon, cut into roughly 4 in x 3 in (about 1-2 inches thick)
Lemon slices
Basil
Olive oil
Parchment Paper, folded in half (roughly 12 in x 7 in or so; it should be enough to encase the salmon with at least 2 inches all around)

This is a simple recipe, using minimal ingredients. You can easily add some ginger, shallots, or even tomatoes. That’s the greatest thing about this recipe. It’s so versatile!

Recipe:

Preheat an oven to 450 degrees with the baking sheet. You want to preheat the baking sheet so that the salmon starts cooking automatically.

Season the salmon with a generous coating of sea salt and pepper. Remember, aside from the lemon and basil, this is the only seasoning the salmon is getting.

After, drizzle a bit of olive oil a folded piece of parchment paper set the basil and the lemon on top. Now it’s time to begin folding. Start by make a triangle fold (make this one big). Then, fold over the right corner of the triangle. Repeat all around. See the images below.

Note that in between, the top part of the parchment may stick up. That’s alright, it doesn’t have to be perfect. Just try to smooth it out as best you can. When you get all the way to the end, you want to make another large triangle fold, and take the right end and tuck it into the last fold (as shown below).

When the oven is ready, take out the hot baking sheet and lay the parchment pouches on the baking sheet. Stick it into the oven for 8-10 minutes. Yes, that’s enough time for it to cook. If you’re only making one or two, you can even stick this into the toaster oven!

When it’s done, the edges of the paper may brown, but that’s perfectly fine. The steam from within should inflate the pouch so that it looks like one fluffy cloud. Serve unopened on a plate. The person eating the salmon should be able to easily unfold the pouch or poke it with a fork (to watch it deflate!) and slide the salmon onto the plate. The salmon should be moist with all of the flavor encased within the parchment.

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This post is part of a series featuring recipes from the FOOD & WINE archive. As a FOOD & WINE Blogger Correspondent, I was chosen to do four recipes a week from FOOD & WINE. I received a subscription to FOOD & WINE for my participation.

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