Recipe: Lemon-Herb Salmon En Papillote
It's weeknight easy, but Saturday night delicious.
Unlike chicken, for which people often have a stable of go-to recipes, cooking piece of fish can be enigmatic. This treatment—steaming fish in parchment paper packets—works well with salmon, as well as flaky fish, such as hake, sole and turbot. Put basically any fillet in the pouch with some citrus, herbs, olive oil and fresh herbs. Pop it in the oven for 20 or so minutes, depending on the thickness of the fish. Prep a quick carb and veg, pour a glass of white if you’re feeling it, and you’ve got a fairly gourmet meal.
For more dinner ideas, see all of our post-workout recipes.
Ingredients
- 1 lemon
- 6 oz grape tomatoes, halved
- 1 shallot, finely chopped
- Small handful basil, roughly chopped
- 2 6-to-8 oz salmon fillets
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- Parchment paper
Directions
Heat oven to 400°.
In a medium bowl, zest lemon; juice half of the fruit, slice the other half and set both aside. Toss the zest with tomatoes, shallot, basil and a pinch each of salt and freshly ground black pepper; drizzle with lemon juice and toss again.
Fold in half two large rectangles of parchment paper, then unfold and lay side-by-side. On one side of each piece of parchment paper, centered and about an inch away from the seam, divide lemon slices and arrange in a compact layer. Place fillets on lemon, divide tomato mixture and spread atop fillets, drizzle with oil and season with salt and pepper. Fold paper over along middle seam, then fold and roll edges over ½ inch at a time on all sides, working toward the middle, until the packet is in the shape of a half-moon and about 1 inch of open space remains around fillets.
Transfer packets to baking sheet and bake, 23 minutes. Allow packets to rest before opening, 3 minutes. Carefully open and enjoy.
Photography by Julia Gartland