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 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.
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 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!
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