Salmon in Parchment
Ingredients:
1 to 1 ½ pound boneless salmon fillets, portioned into 4- or 6-ounce pieces
Lemon slices
Fresh thyme sprigs
Salt and Pepper
White wine
Parchment paper
Method of Preparation:
- Preheat oven to 350* F; line a baking sheet with foil or parchment for easy clean-up. Tear a length of parchment paper about 20” by 15”, fold in half width-wise. Cut a heart shape from the paper and fold out. Repeat this for each piece of salmon – four hearts in all.
- On each parchment heart, and near the fold, place each piece of salmon, skin side down. Season each fillet with salt and pepper, lay two to three lemon slices and thyme sprigs on each piece, and sprinkle with a dry white wine (Chablis, sauvignon blanc, chenin blanc, chardonnay).
- Begin folding the paper from the top of the heart, overlapping around the edges, and continuing to work down to the point of the parchment heart, giving a final twist to the paper to seal in the salmon and the lemon. Repeat with the other parchment hearts and place on the baking sheet. Bake in a 350-degree oven for about 20 minutes; the wine will act as the aromatic steam for the fish, and the paper allows it to steam in the wine – it’s a win-win (or wine-wine) situation!
- Place each packet on a plate and cut open, folding the paper out around the fish. A nice accompaniment would be roasted potatoes, green beans, or rice pilaf.
Ready in 25 minutes; serves 4
Note: I also use a lemongrass/ginger/garlic paste instead of the lemon slices and thyme sprigs. I use an equal amount of each, crushed/minced, to make a paste that I spread on each fillet before I seal the parchment.
