Color Kitchen

Cilantro Salmon En Papillote

One of the easiest, cleanest and fastest ways to cook fish is “en papillote,” which means “in a wrapper.” The steam within the pocket keeps the fish super moist, and replaces pans and pots for a meal sans clean-up.

Upon my brother’s suggestion, I’ve begun searing my fish quickly before putting it in the wrapper. Since fish is a protein, searing the outside effectively seals the fillet, allowing all the moisture to remain inside while cooking. He’s so smart! The quick heat also makes for a brighter and prettier finished product.  

To get started, cut your fish into single-serving sizes. This is 4 ounces for most people (will fit in the palm of your hand), but if you’re cooking for people with big appetites, you can bump it up to 6 or 8 ounces. 

Spray a non-stick pan with olive-oil based cooking spray, or a tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil. Turn heat to medium and allow pan to heat for about a minute. Rinse and pat dry your fillets, then place them in the heated pan and cook for about 1 minute on each side.

Then place your seared fish on a generous size of parchment paper. For a 4-ounce fillet, a square foot is pretty perfect. 

Add your marinate of choice. Olive oil, salt and pepper are a lovely choice, but this photograph used a cilantro sauce that was KILLER. To make it, combine:

• 1/4 cup packed cilantro, placed in a food processor or REALLY finely chopped
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• juice from 1/2 a small lemon or lime

You can put your whole meal in the pocket: sliced potatoes, chopped zucchini and sunchokes are some of my personal favorites. Experiment!

To close your pouch, fold the paper in half over the fish. Starting from the left, fold the corner into a triangle, then fold the top corner of that triangle again, making another triangle. Repeat until you’ve folded the paper into an arc that looks like an empanada or a half-pie. Fold your last triangle over itself and scrunch to keep the corner tight. 

Pre-heat your oven to 350F, then place your parchment paper pockets on a baking sheet and let cook 12 minutes per pound of salmon. While this cooks, you can clean that one pan you seared in!

When ready, remove the entire baking sheet and place the pockets on serving plates. Don’t open the pocket until you’re ready to eat!

Open your meals at the table, and enjoy!