Meal in a paper bag: salmon en papillote

Salmon en Papillote

En papillote is a cooking method in which fresh ingredients are sealed in a parchment pouch and baked. The food steams inside the pouch while baking, keeping all of the flavor and moisture inside. This technique can be used to cook fish, chicken, vegetables and fruit. En papillote is easy, healthy and will impress dinner guests.

The preparation, while easy, is key to the technique of en papillote as is using fresh ingredients. While foil can be used to make the pouches, it is recommended that parchment paper be used. Parchment paper, if you are not familiar with it, comes in rolls just like foil and is sold in grocery stores right next to the foil. Also, because the parchment pouch typically will take up all of the room on a dinner plate, it is best to combine ingredients in the same pouch to make a complete meal. For this Salmon en Papillote, we will steam salmon, potatoes, snow peas and carrots along with some fresh herbs. Then all you need is a fresh green salad and some crusty bread for a unique, restaurant-worthy meal.

Note: remember to think "sustainable" when purchasing salmon. Best choices currently for salmon are Coho, Sockeye, King, Pink or Red that has either been wild-caught in Alaska or tank-farmed in the U. S. Avoid any salmon that is farmed outside of the U.S. Ask the fish monger what type of salmon it is and where it came from. Print a pocket-sized West Coast Seafood Watch guide, mobile phone users can log onto mobile.seafoodwatch.org and iPhone users can download the new free Seafood Watch app. And check out Race Street Fish Market for the freshest fish in town.

Salmon en Papillote

4 small (2-inch diameter) red potatoes, scrubbed and thinly sliced
4 sheets of parchment paper each large enough to encase, when doubled over, a salmon fillet with at least an inch of paper to spare
4 5-6 oz skinless salmon fillets
2 tablespoons butter
2 lemons
2 carrots, peeled and cut into julienne strips
24 snow peas (also called Chinese pea pods), washed
1 bunch fresh dill
2 tablespoons capers
4 tablespoons dry sherry or white wine
salt and pepper

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
• Place the potato slices in a medium-sized microwave-safe bowl along with 1/4 cup water. Seal the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and microwave on high for 5 minutes until potato slices are tender but not falling apart. Drain well.
• Fold each sheet of parchment paper in half and create a crease where the fold is. Cut out half a heart shape (remember grade-school Valentine's?) from each folded piece of parchment.
• For each pouch, open up the heart and lay overlapping cooked potato slices along the crease. Sprinkle the potatoes with a little salt and pepper.
• Top with a salmon fillet. Sprinkle the salmon with a little salt and pepper. Place half a tablespoon of butter on top of the salmon.
• Cut a lemon in half. Cut 2 thin slices from one half and lay the slices on top of the salmon. Squeeze the juice from the rest of the lemon half over the salmon.
• Place some of the julienned carrots strips along one side of the salmon.
• Place 6 snow peas along the other side of the salmon.
• Remove and discard large stems from fresh dill and chop the leaves. Scatter some of the dill over the top of the salmon and vegetables.
• Scatter half a tablespoon of capers over all.
• Sprinkle 1 tablespoon of dry sherry or white wine over all.
• Now you're ready to seal up the parchment pouch. Watch this brief 1-minute video to see how easy it is to do this. (If the video doesn't play on one click, simply double-click it to run it.)

• Repeat with the remaining pieces of parchment paper and ingredients to make a total of four pouches.
• Place the pouches on a baking sheet and bake in the preheated oven for about 20 minutes until the parchment paper is puffed up and beginning to turn golden brown around the edges.
• To serve, place a pouch on a dinner plate and, using a small sharp knife, cut a small opening in the top that allows your dinner guests to tear open the pouches from the top and get the wonderful aroma from the steam that arises as they open them.

For e-mail alerts of new articles from the San Jose Easy Meals Examiner, click on the Subscribe button above. And be sure to check out Margie's Easy Meals for great recipes, weekly meals plans with corresponding grocery lists and easy-to-follow, step-by-step instructions designed to help people with little or no cooking experience.