Salmon en Papillote

What do you do when your Catholic boyfriend doesn’t eat meat on Fridays and you have a steak dinner planned? Do a quick switch up. I had seen a recipe similar to this in a Martha Stewart cookbook and wanted to test out my technical skills. When I first read the recipe, it instantly reminded me of a gussied up version of these chicken pockets I used to make around the campfire as a Girl Scout. We used foil, chicken and store-brand, generic Italian dressing. Then we wrapped them up, threw them in the fire, and fished them out with twigs when we deemed the little dumplings done. The result was usually dried out, poorly seasoned chicken. Sub-par meal for me--even as a ten-year-old.


So naturally stumbling upon this recipe tickled my fancy. With a bit of alteration, it became a hybrid recipe using skills acquired during my days as a Girl Scout and the finesse of the Stock Market Diva herself—an interesting juxtaposition.

The original calls for halibut, but I find more people like salmon. You, of course, can choose to use whatever fish (or chicken) you like best. When buying salmon, you always want to buy wild-caught fish, never farmed. Due to over-crowded hatcheries and unnatural fish feed (antibiotics and pesticides), farmed salmon are full of toxins by the time the fish reach your plate.


Anything en papillote is a fun way to present food--and can cook a variety of foods. This technique of cooking is basically steaming the food in the packages. I like doing veggies en papillote: asparagus topped with salt, pepper and lemon zest. Naturally, you can make this dish with any fish, but it is also good with chicken. However, chicken will take a few minutes more to cook in the oven. 

Our meal was rounded out by an impromptu plaid party, the perfect accompaniment to a Friday fish dinner. Good food and good friends... what more could you ask for?

Happy eating,

Lindsay

Salmon en Papillote

Adapted from Martha Stewart's Cooking School

4 5-oz. skinless salmon fillets

1 cup long grain white rice*
1 teaspoon olive oil
2 teaspoons minced garlic
4 tablespoons chopped shallot

1 16-oz. package frozen spinach 

Herb butter (recipe follows)

1 lemon, sliced into ½ inch rounds

Heat the over to 400 degrees. Measure two cups of water and 2 teaspoons of salt into a medium saucepan over high-heat. Bring water to a boil. Add the rice and stir one time. Cover and reduce heat to medium-low. Let sit for 20 minutes without lifting the lid. Turn off the heat and keep covered for another 5 minutes. Remove from stove and let sit until ready to use.

While rice is cooking, heat a medium sized pan over medium heat. Heat the olive oil and add the garlic and shallots. Cook 3 to 5 minutes, until softened. Add the spinach to the pan, and stir to combine. Slightly cook until spinach is just warmed through and flavors merry together. Remove from heat and set aside. Next, prepare your salmon. Check to see if there are any remaining bones in the fillet, and remove if need be. Lightly season fish on each side with salt and pepper. Set aside.


Cut four pieces of parchment paper (each measuring 12 by 17 inches) and lay them on a clean work surface. Fold each in half crosswise ("hamburger" style); then open and lay flat. When rice is finished, fluff with a fork and bring to your assembly area. Transfer spinach to a bowl, careful to leave behind any excess liquid in the pan. Place near the rice, salmon and parchment paper. Bring out lemon and compound butter. Set up all ingredients in an assembly line on work surface.

Begin by adding a fourth of the rice (a mounded 1/2 cup) on each of the pieces of parchment, mounding it in a rectangular shape along side the center crease (see photo). Press the rice into a semi-flat bed so that the other ingredients do not pile too high and slide off, making it difficult to close the package. Next, divide spinach evenly (about ½ cup on each) and place on top of the rice.

Divide the Herb Butter in half. Then, divide one of the halves among the four packets, spooning it on top of the spinach.  Lay a salmon fillet on top of the spinach and butter. Divide remaining half of Herb Butter evenly among the fish packets, placing it on top of the salmon. Top each with a lemon slice.

Cheat sheet: The order goes rice, spinach, butter, salmon, butter, lemon.

Fold over parchment, making a half square shaped packet. Begin at one of the corners and make small overlapping pleats all the way around to seal the edges completely. Complete all four packets. See photos for assembly.

Transfer packets to a rimmed baking sheet. Cook in the oven until the parchment puffs up, about 12-15 minutes.**  When cooked completely through, immediately serve on individual plates. Use kitchen shears to carefully open the packets.

* Any type of rice will do. For a variation of color and flavor, try a wild rice. For a healthier version, brown rice would be a good choice.

** Good rule of thumb: 8 minutes per inch of thickness for firm-fleshed fish.

Herb Butter

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter

1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh chives

2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh thyme

1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh basil, parsely or cilantro

1 teaspoon course salt

In a medium bowl, stir all ingredients until well incorporated with a flexible spatula. You can leave it in the bowl if using right away.

For easy storage, roll into a log. Place butter mixture on the center of a sheet of parchment paper. Loosely fold paper in half towards you and roll back and forth to form butter into a log. Wrap parchment completely around butter, twist the ends to seal.  Refrigerate until firm.

*You can add in other herbs such as thyme or oregano; however, they must be fresh not dried. A winning flavor profile for a compound butter, make extra to save for later. Excellent on toast in the morning. You can really use it on anything as a substitute for plain butter.