Bagging It

Parchment paper is one of those cooking tools that doesn’t seem like a big deal until you start using it. And then you wonder how you got along without it. It’s the perfect surface for baking meringues and cookies, unmatched at lining cake pans, handy for making soufflé collars, and excellent at preventing skin from forming on sauces. But its real claim to culinary fame is in making bags — envelopes — for cooking things like fish and poultry in.

Kitchen parchment paper is impregnated with silicone. The silicone makes it non-stick, which is why it’s useful under cookies or lining cake pans, and resistant to grease and moisture, which is what makes it useful as a cooking container.

Food cooked in parchment is

A recipe is only a theme, which an intelligent cook can play each time with a variation. ~ Madame Benoit

steamed in it’s own juices and whatever other liquid may be added to the envelope. This cooking process produces a tender result that maximizes the flavors sealed into the bag because unlike steaming or poaching in a pan, the container is just barely larger than the food being cooked.

This cooking method is a delight at dinner parties. The guests are presented with an anonymous package on a plate that they open to release the wonderful aromas and discover their meal. I like to include the entire meal in the package, which is handy because it usually takes up the whole plate anyway.

For the recipe below, use a section of salmon filet about 3″ x 6″. To learn how to make the envelope click here.

Salmon en Papillote

1 ea 5 – 6 oz salmon fillet section
1 ea small potato (2″ diameter) — sliced 1/8″ thick
1/2 ea lemon
1 tbsp white wine
2 sprigs fresh dill
1 1/2 tbsp butter
10 – 12 ea snow peas
salt
ground white pepper
ground black pepper

Heat oven to 375F. Prepare parchment.

Cook potato slices in boiling water, seasoned with salt, until tender.

Cut two thin slices from the lemon half and juice the remainder. Mix juice with the white wine.

Position salmon on half of paper. Sprinkle with salt and white pepper. Dot with pieces of butter. Place dill on salmon and layer potato slices on top. Season potato with salt and black pepper and top with lemon slices. Seal parchment envelope leaving a small opening at the pointed end.

When ready to cook, pour wine and lemon juice into the openeing in the parchment and seal. Place bundle on a baking sheet and cook for 11 -12 minutes. Serves 1.

Technorati: Food | recipe | main dish | seafood | salmon

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