En papillote simply means “in paper” in French, so “salmon en papillote” describes the classically French method of cooking salmon in parchment paper. For our salmon en papillote recipe, you wrap each portion of salmon in a little parchment paper packet along with some sliced zucchini and fennel bulb, dill, lemon and a little olive oil and then bake it.
Course Main Course
Cuisine French
Keyword Culinary 3, Salmon, Seafood
Ingredients
1.5lbsSalmoncut into 4 pieces
1Small zucchinithinly sliced
1Head fennelthinly sliced
1Lemonthinly sliced
1Frond Fresh Dill
1tbspOlive oil
1tspSalt
1/2tspPepper
Instructions
Cut parchment into 4 large ovals 15” by 10” inches. And fold in half.
On half of each parchment layer on ¼ of the zucchini, ¼ the fennel, 1 piece of salmon, sprinkle with ¼ tsp salt, ¼ pepper, ¼ tsp dill, lemon slices, drizzle with ¼ cup olive oil and a few pieces of fennel fronds. Repeat with the three remaining salmon fillets.
Close the parchment by folding the other half over the prepared salmon and carefully roll the open edges toward the center.
Set pouches on a baking sheet and bake on the center rack for 15 minutes.
Open carefully using a fork and serve.
Notes
A note on seasonality. May-October is salmon season in the U.S., and that is when you can expect to find the best stuff most widely available.
Variety. From Coho to King, to super-meaty Copper River salmon, most any variety of wild salmon that looks bright pink and marbled with at least a little fat will be delicious in the salmon in parchment recipe.
Wild vs farmed. Wild salmon is usually better than farmed—better tasting, better for you, better for the environment. However, responsibly farmed salmon can be a better choice than irresponsibly caught wild salmon.