Salmon en Papiotte

Salmon en papillote

Recipe of the Day:

I spent most of the afternoon out at a Film Industry panel so I didn't have time to spend in the kitchen today but since I was out all day and didn't have much cash all I ate was carbs and other bad things while I was downtown.  I counted change to get some fries at Chippy's on Bloor.  I didn't have enough money to get the fish so since I was all carbed out I decided to make my own fish when I got home.    I knew I had some  salmon filets in the freezer so I thought I would make Salmon en Papiotte.   It sounds fancy and difficult but it's one of the easiest ways to make fish.    It's french for Salmon in Paper.  You can make it in a brown paper bag or you can make it in parchment paper.  The point of this is to seal all the juices in a little packet (papier) to let the fish steam in it's own juices with a little help from some spices or herbs and a bit of steaming liquid.


So here is what I did:


A handful of baby spinach placed on top of the parchment paper.
1 piece of salmon filet on top of the spinach.
A pinch of salt and pepper to taste over the fish and spinach.
I added about a half a teaspoon of olive oil.
3 slices of lemon placed on top of the salmon
A couple of sprigs of fresh dill and parsley.

you can also add other greens,  other herbs and spices and a splash of wine and whatever flavourings you like.    Just don't add too much or it will take too long to cook.

Preheat the oven to 350F.

There are a few ways to wrap the parchment paper but the easy way is to just sort of wrap it like you are wrapping a present quickly.   fold over and fold under basically to seal it up.

If the salmon is fresh and not frozen it should take about 20-25 minutes.

My fish was frozen so it took about 45 minutes.

Slice a slit in the top of the package when cooked and be careful of the steam released..   Eh VOILA..  Salmon en Papillote.

The great thing about this recipe is that if you use Salmon you get some great Omega 3's and cook without a lot of added fat and salt.

It's healthy and easy and if you make it for friends or family they will thing you are the greatest fancy cook.    And the best part is no pots to clean.