Salmon En Papillote with Julienned Vegetables

March 28th, 2013

I have been in a cooking funk lately.  Nothing I have made has been blog worthy.  I just burned some honey glazed pancetta that was supposed to go on a salad.  Other dishes that I have made were just plain boring.  We are back in Lake Lure.  The weather is cold and windy and the cottage is in need of all kinds of fluffing and repairs.  Squirrels chewed the wires to the steam bath and made themselves a nest under the tub.  David was looking forward to satisfying his Finnish blood with a hot steam bath and was dismayed to discover what the critters had done.  They even feathered their nest with paint brushes from the basement.  I guess they were planning on remodeling.   We are planning on evicting them.  So when dinner time rolled around last night, I was in no mood to get creative with the salmon.  David said “Have you ever blogged about my salmon cooked in parchment paper?”  Needless to say, I was more than happy to turn the kitchen over to him while I snapped the pictures.

Here are the main ingredients.  It is important that the vegetables you use are sliced thinly because the salmon cooks for only 15 minutes.  You can use what you have.  I had carrots, peppers, onions and some cooked baby broccoli from another meal.  You could also use thinly sliced broccoli, scallions, snow peas or asparagus.

David is proud of this fillet knife that he got at an estate sale last year in our hometown of Dowagiac, MI.  It is engraved with the date and Trig Lund’s name.  Trig was an executive with the Heddon Lure Company a maker of fishing lures sold around the world. I wrote a whole post about the estate sale last summer.

We always remove the skin from our salmon before we cook it.

Each piece of salmon is placed on a piece of parchment paper and covered with the vegetables and seasoning.

You can actually see the salmon in this shot.

A little wine for moisture is always a good thing.  Also note that David has brushed the edges of the parchment paper with an egg wash to help seal the packets.

The packets are sealed.

The packets ready to go into the oven.  Notice he has also included pats of butter, along with some lemon juice.

After a brief time in the oven, dinner was served.  Along with the salmon I made a rice pilaf and a salad with that burned pancetta.  It actually wasn’t bad.  I will experiment with it again and give you a recipe when I figure it out.   David had no trouble figuring out a great salmon dish.  Here is his recipe.

SALMON EN PAPILLOTE WITH JULIENNED VEGETABLES

This is a very simple, delicious and fool-proof way to prepare salmon with vegetables. And, it looks fancy and festive, but it is so easy. You can use any combination of vegetables that suits your fancy. Listed below are some of the ones we commonly use, but you can substitute or include others such as, leeks, and snow peas, anything that can be cut into thin pieces so that it cooks rapidly. You can also substitute any other type of fish fillet that you might have on hand or can find, and you also might want to experiment with other herbs and spices.

Here are one possible set of ingredients per packet, i.e. per serving

one 8 oz salmon filet
¼ cup julienned carrots
¼ cup julienned green onions
¼ cup julienned broccolini
¼ cup julienned red or green pepper
1 Tbsp minced garlic
1 tsp olive oil
2 Tbsp dry white wine
basil ½ tsp dried or 1 tsp chopped fresh
2 lemon slices
3 pats of butter
salt and pepper to taste
1 egg beaten-to seal the packets

Place a salmon filet to the right of the center of a 15” square of parchment paper. Salt and pepper the filet to taste. Sprinkle the olive oil, garlic, and basil over the salmon. Arrange the julienned vegetables on top of the filet. Place two lemon slices and three butter pats on top. Sprinkle the wine over the top and add a little more salt and pepper to the top of the vegetables. Use a brush and the egg wash to paint the edge of paper all the way around to help seal the packet. Fold the left side of the paper over the fish and vegetables and start at the top left corner making small overlapping folds all the way around the three open sides. When you get to the final fold, turn it under to help keep it from unfolding. Prepare as many packets as you want servings and place on a baking sheet in a 400 deg oven for about 18-20 minutes. The fish will actually be done in about 15 minutes, but the veggies will benefit from the extra time, and the fish will remain moist and tender from the cooking method. To serve, place a packet on each plate along with whatever starch you are serving, and cut the packets open with a sharp knife so the contents can be removed to the plate.  Enjoy.

Printable recipe

12 responses to “Salmon En Papillote with Julienned Vegetables”

  1. Susan says:

    Looks delicious, Penny. Have never tried baking salmon in paper. Dale is still talking about trying your shrimp cakes. I have not been in much of a cooking mood either. Sorry about what you found on your return home. It was a rough winter for all, apparently. Hope it warms up for you. Still cold down here. Crazy weather.

  2. Jane says:

    I haven’t made this in quite a while and hubby just bought some salmon. Great. Kudos to David!

    Sorry you came back to such a mess. I have a critter getting into my garage somehow and it has really done a number…just waiting for it to warm up so we can clean it out. Take care.

    XO,
    Jane

  3. CuisinedeProvence says:

    Just looking at the photos gets me seriously hungry!

  4. Penny says:

    Welcome Back!! I am excited you are back here. Sorry about all of the troubles upon arriving home. David’s salmon looks delicious! Looking forward to getting together sometime next month.
    Hugs,
    Penny

  5. Larry says:

    Sorry to hear about your critter damage. When I was a kid, stewed squirrel over bisciuts was mighty tasty. David made another fine looking meal and one I’m sure Bev will want to try. She still talks about a similar meal she had in a restaurant about 25 years ago.

  6. Lynda says:

    How nice that David was eager to cook -it looks so delicious!
    So sorry about the critter damage-rather brazen little guys weren’t they.

  7. Susan says:

    David’s salmon sounds delicious! My husband always makes our salmon too but it’s always done on the grill. I’d love to try something a little different.

    Darned squirrels!

  8. Barbara Williams says:

    Kudos for David! I’ve only made one dish en papillote and as I recall it had an Asian flavor, with sake and soy sauce over the fish. Turned out beautifully, so why haven’t I done it again? Now I have David’s recipe AND a daughter coming home in a couple weeks. She’d love this!
    Have always been wary of buying lemon bars in a store…that fake lemon flavor really bothers me. But if you say they’re good at Fresh Market, I’ll try one.

  9. Robin Sue says:

    I have learned something new here- to add the egg wash to help seal the paper better. Great idea! I think my family would love this meal. Too bad about all the critters, it is amazing how quickly they move in once you are out. Welcome back to Lake Lure!

  10. Barb Bobik says:

    I’m not a huge fan of salmon, but your brother is, so this would be something fun to try. Kudos to Uncle David & his cooking skills. That knife……might have made a mistake with that one, but nice to know that it has found a good home & is being used. Look forward to more of the “cooking duo” as you both compliment each other so well.

  11. kwklett says:

    What gorgeous photos, Penny! Love all the prep shots and the stories behind them!

  12. Karen says:

    Looks so fancy! Dang rodents… what a mess. I haven’t seen a mouse in 5 years. I think it’s too cold for them up here. Ha!

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