Sunday, February 17, 2013

Parchment Poached Salmon Pouches #SundaySupper



Parchment paper and I are very good friends.  We met a few years back and it was the best union.  I cook and it helps things to not stick to my cookie sheet AND it makes these darling parchment pouches.
I guess in a way it's our version of a TV dinner.  You fill half a side of parchment with what you would like and it all cooks at the same time...viola...dinner in 20 minutes.  Now if you are one of those that don't like your food to touch other foods, then prepare the different items in different pouches.  I do this when I make our meat and potato pouches.  I fill a separate pouch with carrots to steam.  Carrots add a very sweet flavor to food and I don't like my potatoes tasting like carrots.

I have very strong opinions about carrots, you may already know this from reading another post. Now in this pouch, I added a few carrots because it married well with the other veggies and I used them sparingly--more for color, I guess.

Our theme this week was Skinny Sunday Dinner. I have not shared any parchment pouch dinners on my blog and thought this would be an excellent fit for a skinny dinner. Lots of veggies, a great quality piece of salmon, fresh herbs, citrus, and extra virgin olive oil all steamed together in under 25 minutes.

I am going to share with you how I prepared my salmon pouch but you can add any veggies you would like, any herbs that you enjoy and any spices that rock your world.  Do you see how this works?  I will prove you with the basics of how to fold the paper, cook the fish and what I used but you have the ultimate control over what is put inside.  The only thing that will take longer to cook is the potatoes unless they are cut up very small.  Other than that...go crazy and create parchment pouches for your family.



I find that many recipes name their parchment pouches and include the term poach. To poach something is to immerse it into the water and gently cook delicate items like fish or an egg.  I think the salmon is probably closer to being steamed with the end result being your salmon and veggies are resting in a small amount of liquid: water, the juice from the salmon, and olive oil.  I went with the popular title and left it as Parchment Poached Salmon instead of calling it Parchment Steamed Salmon.

To add some garnish to my dish I used fresh thyme in the pouch and served the salmon with a few toasted almond slices and a combination of Sriracha Sauce and mayonnaise.


So let's get started with the recipe.  I have included a step by step pictorial of how I stacked my pouches as well as a step by step pictorial of how to fold the pouches.  You will also find a great list of recipes from our Sunday Supper group with the links to other fabulous skinny dishes at the very end. 

Recipe:  Parchment Poached Salmon Pouches
This will make 6 pouches.

1.5 pounds of salmon, cut into 2 inch wide pieces (I was able to get 6 pieces)
2 small zucchini's, cut at an angle into thin slices
2 small carrots, peeled and then using the peeler I sliced curls of carrots
2 blood oranges, peeled and sliced thin
1 lemon, peeled and sliced thin
1/2 cup of spinach PER pouch
1 small red onion, sliced thin
fresh thyme sprigs (about 2 per pouch)
olive oil 
salt

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

I would have all of your ingredients prepped and ready to go.  Cut you salmon into desired servings, find your olive oil and have the salt ready to season.

Tear a piece of parchment paper about 20 inches long for each pouch.  Stack your veggies, fruit and salmon on one side.

Drizzle olive oil over the top (the amount is up to you, some like more than others), season with salt and add the sprigs of thyme.

Using the pictures below,  fold your parchment paper in half; starting on one side, fold the paper over each other and continue around to the other side.  The parchment should not come undone.  Take the end and tightly fold it under the pouch.

Bake time should be 20 minutes.  Rest the pouches for 5 minutes.

Serve the pouches on a plate or remove contents to a plate.  I have included a picture above of the salmon and veggies served on a plate.

NOTE:  To open pouches, I use a pair of scissors and cut down the middle with a few cuts to the left and a few to the right, this allows people to finish tearing their pouches.  Remember there is steam in the pouch, be very careful to not burn your fingers with the first cut.

I started with spinach and sprinkled my onions across them.

I adde carrot curls and the blood red oranges next.

I laid my salmon (wish skin) on top of the oranges.

I topped each piece with lemon slices, olive oil, salt and sprigs of thyme.
This is how the salmon looked before I cooked it for 20 minutes.

This is how they looked when they were done.

To start the process, fold the parchment in half.
Take the left side and fold the first twist next to the salmon, and continue turning and twisting the paper around the contents.


You can see the twisting and turning, continue to do this around to the other side.
 
When you have made it to the other side, take the little tail and fold it under.  I cook 4 on a cookie sheet at a time.

I had some odd pieces left and added smoked paprika, olive oil, and thyme and baked them without any veggies for the same amount of time-20 minutes.

Just take a look at all these amazing Skinny recipes!  A huge thanks to Sunithi, of Sue’s Nutrition Buzz, for hosting us this week!
Sizzling Skinny Appetizers & Soups
 Healthy Skinny Mains & Sides
Guilt Free Skinny Desserts & Snacks
Wine Pairing Recommendations for Skinny Sunday Supper by ENOFYLZ Wine Blog.
Join the #SundaySupper conversation on twitter each Sunday. We tweet throughout the day and share recipes from all over the world. This week we will be sharing out special skinnified recipes! Our weekly chat starts at 7:00 pm ET and you do not want to miss out on the fun. Follow the#SundaySupper hashtag and remember to include it in your tweets to join in the chat. Check out our #SundaySupper Pinterest board for more fabulous recipes and food photos.
Join us Around the Family Table this Sunday at 7pm Eastern Time and share your favorite healthy recipes with us!


50 comments:

  1. I have made parchment pouches a few times - a great cooking method. I love your addition of citrus to the salmon here!

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    1. Thanks Brianne. For some reason I just love citrus and salmon together. Have a great day!

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  2. OMG! These are absolutely GORGEOUS. What a cool technique and recipe. I adore salmon, so I'm positive this is happening in my kitchen. Great recipe.
    Nicole
    Daily Dish Recipes

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    1. Thank you Nicole. I was so worry with our snowy day yesterday that I would have enough light to even shoot the pictures. I thought they turned out really nice. Enjoy the recipe and let me know how they turn out when you get around to making them.

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  3. Absolutely gorgeous and I love that you shared this recipe during #SundaySupper

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    1. Thank you Isabel. I don't have many skinny recipes...LOL So I knew this would work. I love this group!

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  4. Absolutely stunning colors and I am sure, flavors! I would love to open one of those little parchment packets for dinner tonight. Beautiful!

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    1. Thank you Stacy. My family always enjoys the surprise of what is inside when they open them. We also make these in foil when we go camping...hobo dinners.

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  5. Wowwww - this dish is absolutely, positively, 100% beautiful! The colors are gorgeous, and I just know the flavors are amazing. Thanks for sharing this one!!!

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  6. I've cooked in packets before, but never knew how to fold them properly. Thanks for the lesson. This meal looks incredible, and what a fun presentation!

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    1. I am so glad that that helped. I was worried the post was getting lengthy but the folding is part of the process. Have a great day and thank you for your comment.

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  7. Looks fantastic! You could also be a little fancy if you want and call it "en papillote!"

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    1. You are so right Dorothy, I like the sound of that! thank you for your comment.

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  8. This looks fantastic and healthy and awesome! I can't wait to try out parchment paper pouches! Thank you for sharing!

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  9. I've always wanted to try the parchment paper method! This looks amazing - and the flavors look so bright and flavorful!

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    1. Thank you Chung-Ah. Once you use this method you will soon find other things that can be prepared in the pouches. The steaming process cooks things so much faster too. Enjoy your day.

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  10. Your pictures make me actually want to eat your amazing dish, and I am not even a fan of salmon! Beautiful!

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    1. Thank you Karen. My son had to pass too. He used to love fish and then turned into a teenager and has decided he no longer has the taste for it. Enjoy your night!

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  11. Love this ! I can actually make and customize 4 meals for my family using this technique without feeling like a short order cook ! Beautiful, healthy & yummmm! Thanks for sharing a great technique !

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  12. Salmon en Papillote may actually be one of my favorite meals of all time. Yours is so colorful and absolutely beautiful - what I wouldn't give to have it for lunch right this minute. This is the perfect dish for today (okay, any day)! Stunning.

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  13. Absolutely gorgeous! Love the addition of citrus via the blood oranges.

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  14. Spectacularly beautiful! Such a feast for the eyes and the stomach. Wow.

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  15. When I saw this on G+ I just about fell off my chair. It's so stunning. I love fish done like this and haven't done it in awhile. You reminded me how yummy parchment salmon is. Plus it's just beautiful to look at.

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  16. I've always wanted to try cooking with parchment paper! Great share!

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  17. I am trying to figure out how to get my family to eat salmon so I can make this...it is beautiful!!

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  18. I'm so glad I read Ally's interview with you -- a pleasant and inspired synopsis of "what you do" and "why you do it." (Plus a fabulous salmon recipe... be still my heart.) Thank you!

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  19. This looks so delicious!!! I have to make it ...

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  20. That is the most beautiful parcel of fish and vegetables I have ever seen in my life. I'm not joking - it really is! I love everything you put in there, what a fabulous and healthy combination of flavours. And your photos are stunning, the colours really pop!

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  21. What a fantastic recipe and idea. I love the use of parchment paper. It's such an easy cleanup! Delicious!!!!

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  22. I love cooking in parchment pouches, you just serve everyone a pouch and dinner is done! The flavors of this dish look incredible.

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  23. Such a great healthy recipe!I love the idea of using a parchment paper and all the flavor ingredients :)So super easy and simple :)Cannot wait to try!!

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  24. never thought to do blood oranges, it's so pretty

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  25. Love this recipe, and especially the addition of blood oranges! Thanks for sharing!

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  26. Oh I love parchment pouch recipes. No mess and so easy to put together. I would have never thought to add blood oranges but I bet it is fantastic

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  27. What a marvelous recipe! I have made a simple salmon dish en papillote, but I need to shake it up and try some of your delicious suggestions! Beautifully done.

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  28. Love love baking salmon and even other fish in parchment paper. I never even thought of adding the oranges etc the way you did it. Thank you for your pictures they gave me an idea. By the way your shots are very pretty. =)

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  29. This is just wonderful and beautifully made! I love Salmon and have always wanted to try this! Love all the veggie layering you did. . so colorful and beautiful!

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  30. Love the step by step instructions and the beautiful photos. Salmon looks wonderful with all the colorful veggies and citrus!

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  31. Gorgeous idea!! I love, love, love this. I want to do this for my next dinner party. So healthy, colorful, and fun to make. Love!!!

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  32. Parchment is fantastic, I agree! Love these salmon pouches with the citrus! ~ Bea @ Galactosemia in PDX

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  33. Absolutely beautiful. I adore this recipe and your photographs are stunning! I've used parchment like this before but never with so many wonderful additional ingredients. This is one of the nicest salmon recipes I have seen. Wow! Lovely!!! :-))

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  34. These look amazing! I've never used parchment for pouches - we cook with foil pouches on the grill all summer long, but I'd never thought of using parchment. I can't wait to try this dish!

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  36. Good morning, I have featured your gorgeous recipe on my blog for my weekly seafood round-up called Seafood Frenzy Friday. I have also linked this recipe to your original post so that my readers will be forwarded to your site. Thank you for allowing me to share and have a wonderful weekend. Here is the link: http://carriesexperimentalkitchen.blogspot.com/2013/03/seafood-frenzy-friday-week-51.html

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  37. Very tasty and easy to make! And such pretty colors!

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  38. WOW! As soon as I saw this on Pinterest I knew I had to make it. Your photos of this are beautiful.

    I made it tonight with a few alternatives, like just normal oranges and mushrooms instead of spinach. It came out tasting fantastic and it was so simple to make. I will continue on making this and trying different variations. Thank you for sharing this wonderful recipe as I've never thought to make salmon (which I eat a lot of) like this before.

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