Quick and easy, salmon fillets nestled on a bed of fennel sprinkled with lemon and butter, baked in a parchment paper pouch.
Have you ever baked salmon in parchment paper?
It can look a bit fancy and intimidating, but I assure you, it’s insanely easy to do. The fillets basically steam in their own juice, all contained within the parchment pouch.
If you don’t have parchment paper, you can use aluminum foil. The cool thing about the paper is that it’s pretty, and you can even serve the salmon in the parchment bags and let guests unwrap them on their plates.
CONTINUE READING:
This Parchment Baked Salmon with Fennel is a classic French dish –Saumon au Fenouil en Papillote.
Place a salmon fillet over thinly sliced fennel on parchment paper. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, lemon juice or white wine, top with lemon slices, fennel leaves and butter, wrap in parchment and bake. That’s it!
Sealing the parchment paper so it doesn’t fall apart may seem intimidating, but it’s a lot easier than it looks.
Added bonus? None of those salmon smells that can overwhelm a kitchen after cooking salmon on the stove. Anything that escapes the salmon during cooking stays in the parchment bag.
What is your favorite thing to cook “en papillote”? Please let us know in the comments.
Salmon with fennel baked in parchment
You can use dry white wine instead of or in addition to the lemon juice.
ingredients
-
1 fennel bulbsliced wafer-thin (a mandolin helps here)
-
4 (6 ounce) servings fresh salmon fillets (skinless is best)
-
Kosher salt
-
Fresh ground black pepper
-
lemon juice, taste
-
12 very thin slices all lemon (from 1 to 2 lemons)
-
Several branches fresh fennel fronds
-
2 tablespoon butter
-
4 (12 x 18 inch) pieces parchment paper (can put aluminum foil underneath if you don’t have parchment paper)
method
-
Preheat the oven to 175°C
-
Create a fold in parchment paper:
Lay a piece of parchment paper on a flat surface. Fold the parchment in half to create a crease, then unfold.
-
Layer fennel, salmon, fronds, lemon, butter on parchment below fold:
Place several slices of fennel bulb in a mound below the fold of the parchment paper and sprinkle with salt.
Place a salmon fillet on the fennel bulb slices. Squeeze fresh lemon juice over the salmon (from a teaspoon to a tablespoon, or to taste). Sprinkle the salmon generously with salt and pepper.
Place sprigs of fennel over the salmon. Place 3 thin slices of lemon over the fennel leaves and salmon (more if you like). Or you can place the sliced lemon on top first and top with your choice of fronds. I think the discs above look better. Spread the top with butter.
-
Fold the parchment over the salmon and secure:
There are several ways you can achieve this.
A simple and particularly attractive way is to fold one corner near the folded edge of the parchment paper into a triangle. Then, about halfway down that triangle, fold another triangle over the previous triangle.
Working down and around the parchment edges you can create creases around the edges. When you get to the last folded edge, tuck the corner under the parchment.
There is an excellent video showing this technique here: How to Wrap Fish in Parchment. This technique works well with individual servings.
You may find it easier to wrap a large fillet (for multiple servings) the following way. Arrange the fillet so that the long side is towards you and the two shorter ends are to the left and right. Then lift the parchment edges closest and furthest from you, bring them together, and fold them a few times. Then tuck the left and right edges under the fillet.
-
Bake:
Place on a roasting pan or baking sheet. Bake at 350°F for 20 minutes.
Serve immediately. To serve, you can either carefully place each salmon fillet and pile of fennel slices on individual plates, or serve the pouched salmon itself on a plate.
To eat, you can either unwrap the bag or cut the top with a sharp knife to reveal the salmon inside.
CONTINUE READING:
| nutritional information (per serving) | |
|---|---|
| 459 | calories |
| 27g | Fat |
| 18g | carbohydrates |
| 40g | protein |
