Parchment Steamed Salmon, Grapefruit & Vegetable Mélange

To make up for partying a little too hard on Saturday night and as a result missing my weekend blog post (although I have no regrets!),  I am back to detox mode.

I have also organized an extra special, delicious yet simple, 

easy-to-make meal I promise you will love.

The recipe I'm sharing with you involves one amazing cooking tool I love: Parchment.

The greatest thing about baking with Parchment paper is that it does all the work.

No clean-up, no fuss.  Just pure, simple, steamed ingredients all baked to perfection.

It is literally effortless every time.  Guaranteed!  

Whether you are counting a few calories, a clutz in the the kitchen, want to impress a very special someone over a quick & delicious dinner 

(they will think you hired a private chef!), 

or just need an easy go-to healthy weeknight recipe idea, this dish is for you!

I used a 5 ounce center cut single portion of Wild Salmon for this dish.

With a sharp knife, I carefully removed the skin from the fillet 

(yes, there were a few tears shed..sigh.) 

In a small bowl, marinate & season the salmon with 1 tbsp of freshly squeezed grapefruit juice, salt and ground pepper. 

 Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

 Prepare small potatoes (boiled until *just* fork tender) quartered into bite-size pieces,

and a handful of each: baby carrots, whole sugar snap peas, sliced fennel leeks, and sliced wedges of Grapefruit with skin intact.

On a 15" x 20" sheet of Parchment paper, place 2 slices of unsalted butter (1/4 tbsp each) in the center of the parchment.

Then place the vegetable & 1/2 of the grapefruit slices on top of the butter.  Add salt & pepper if desired.

Place the salmon fillet on top along with the remaining grapefruit wedges.  Garnish with chives & parsley (optional)

**In Addition (also optional), add a splash of white wine if available. This will add wonderful dimension and flavor. 

I always keep a bottle of inexpensive Chardonnay in my fridge weekly just for cooking! 

Fold up each top and bottom edge (the wider edges) until they are overlapping at the top of the Fish/Veggies.  Bend back the edges and crinkle/twist the paper to fully seal, working from the top center and outwards to the sides.  

At the sides, twist the paper to create a "candy wrapper roll" look.

Make sure there are no holes in the parchment wrapping.

The ingredients will steam inside perfectly if no heat is allowed to escape.   

Place pouch on a baking sheet and bake @ 400 degrees for 15-25 minutes (depending on how you prefer your Salmon, I like mine medium rare which usually takes 18 min.)

Carefully open parchment (steam is hot!) and voila, ready to serve.  

A truly healthy (and seriously GOOD!) beautiful dish that will impress even yourself.

 

I once made a similar recipe for a small dinner party I had.
I can't begin to describe the looks on everyone's faces when I served the main course.
All perfectly baked portions right out of the individual parchment pouches customized to their liking.  And I magically managed to entertain and enjoy a Champagne toast, all while dinner was preparing itself simultaneously.  Good stuff.

Enjoy, xoxo

Jen  

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Parchment Steamed Salmon, Grapefruit & Vegetable Mélange

Recipe serves 1.  Duplicate recipe to increase portions.

Ingredients

-1 fresh 5 ounce center-cut Wild Salmon filet

-1/2 tbsp unsalted butter

-Kosher Salt & fresh ground Black Pepper to taste

-1/2 cup cooked potato medley (quartered into bite size pieces)

-1/2 cup uncooked whole sugar snap peas

-1/2 cup uncooked baby carrots

-1/2 cup uncooked sliced fennel leeks

-1/4 grapefruit, sliced into wedges with skin intact (plus 1 tbsp for marinade)

- (1) 15"x20" sheet of Parchment paper

-Optional: splash of white wine (I used a Chardonnay)

-Optional: chopped chives and parsley for garnish inside parchment pouch

Preparation & Cooking instructions: 

1.  Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

2.  In a small saucepan, bring to a boil whole potatoes with just enough water to cover.  Boil uncovered for 5-8 minutes (or until just fork tender).

3.  With a sharp knife, carefully remove the skin from the Salmon filet.

4.  In a small bowl, marinate the salmon with 1 tbsp of grapefruit juice and season with salt and ground pepper.

5.  On a sheet of 15" x 20" parchment paper, place 2 slices of unsalted butter (1/4 tbsp each) in the center of the parchment.  Then place the vegetable mixture & 1/2 of the grapefuit slices  on top of the butter.  Season with salt and pepper if desired.  Place the salmon filet and remaining grapefruit wedges on top of the vegetables.

Garnish with chives and parsley if desired.  Also add a splash of white wine if desired.

6.  Fold up each top and bottom edges (the wider edges) until they are overlapping at the top of the Fish/Veggies.  Bend back the edges and crinkle/twist the paper to fully seal, working from the top center and outwards to the sides.  At the sides, twist the paper to create a "candy wrapper roll" look, making sure there are no holes in the parchment wrapping.

7.  Place pouch on a baking sheet and bake @ 400 degrees for 15-25 minutes (depending on how you prefer your Salmon).  Medium rare = 18 min. approx.  

8. Carefully open parchment (steam is hot!) and voila!  Serve immediately