Back to Basics by Michael Smith

Back to Basics by Michael Smith

Author:Michael Smith
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Penguin Canada


SALMON IN A BAG

French cooking includes a basic method for steaming fish with vegetables and aromatics inside tightly folded parchment paper. Known as en papillote, this classic method efficiently locks in heat and flavors. It’s speedy—and it’s even speedier if you use the parchment cooking bags that can be found in grocery stores now. (For best results, look for Parchment Cooking Bags from PaperChef.) SERVES 4

1 fennel bulb, very thinly sliced

1 cup (250 mL) of your favorite pitted black olives

A heaping ½ cup (140 mL) of drained oil-packed dried tomatoes, thinly sliced

¼ cup (60 mL) of extra-virgin olive oil

¼ cup (60 mL) of red wine vinegar

2 tablespoons (30 mL) of fennel seeds

½ teaspoon (2 mL) of salt

Lots of freshly ground pepper

4 large skinless salmon fillets (about 6 ounces/170 g each)

Preheat your oven to 350˚F (180˚C) and turn on your convection fan if you have one.

In a large bowl, toss the fennel with the olives, tomatoes, oil, vinegar, fennel seeds, salt, and pepper. Evenly divide the works among 4 parchment cooking bags.

Lightly season each salmon fillet with a bit more salt and pepper. Lay the bags on their side and slip a salmon fillet into each one, surrounding it with the pile of aromatic vegetables. Tightly roll or fold up the open end until you get to the salmon, then use a binder clip, clothespin, or stapler to seal the bag, creating a pocket of moist heat and flavor. Transfer the bags to a baking sheet.

Bake for about 20 minutes, until the bags heat through and puff up with aromatic steam, cooking the fish within. Remove from the oven and place each bag on a plate. Encourage everyone at your table to cut open their own bag, thereby releasing a cloud of fragrant steam. Serve and share!

TWIST

This basic method of locking salmon, vegetables, and fragrant moisture into a bag can easily be adapted with many other flavor themes. For a bag of Indian-inspired flavor, toss thinly sliced fennel with curry powder, orange juice, and mango chutney. For Asian flair, toss thinly sliced shiitake mushrooms, onions, and snow peas with rice wine vinegar, soy sauce, and grated ginger.



Download



Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.