Happy Wednesday! Is anyone else’s week just flying by? We’ve been working hard on new recipe videos since Saturday and we just wrapped up last night. We filmed twenty new videos in four days, so I’m just a little bit tired, but of course, still ready to take on the remainder of the week. Filming videos is so much work, but it can also be fun, since it’s not just me in the kitchen cooking all day long. Today I’m back to working on the computer, but a day of screen time is needed after four full days in the kitchen. Also needed? A very easy recipe for dinner. Enter this parchment baked salmon that I’m seriously just so in love with. It has some of my favorite spring ingredients of the moment: potatoes, salmon, lemon, and so many fresh herbs. Loving herbs right now.
All week long we’ve been talking about recipes my mom would love. Well, today’s recipe is one my mom would not love. She’s not too into fish. Like at all. But it’s OK because I know the rest of us will enjoy this recipe as it’s delicious, healthy, quick, easy, and pretty too! If you and your family enjoy salmon, I highly recommend giving this recipe a try. Again, did I mention the no mess thing? It’s probably my favorite part. I mean, aside from the delicious taste. Of course.
So here’s the story. I was talking with my cookbook editor a few weeks back and she mentioned that I had never done any parchment paper, packet style, recipes before. When she said this, I couldn’t believe that I had never thought to share a recipe of this style before. Sure, I use parchment paper all the time, but I had never actually baked an entire meal inside a parchment paper packet. Once I realized all of this, I quickly moved along to creating my first “parchment paper packet” recipe. And this is where this salmon comes in.
For those of you who are wondering what the heck I am talking about, a parchment paper packet is an Italian way of cooking fish. To put it simply, you’re creating a packet out of parchment paper for your food to cook inside of. Not only does this save on mess and dishes, but cooking your food in parchment steams the food and cooks everything in their own juices. Cooking food this way preserves nutrients and creates and insane amount of flavor because all of the aromas are trapped inside the parchment paper. Meaning you can get away with using less ingredients, but still come away with a delicious dinner. And…it’s cooks everything really fast too. YES PLEASE.
I decided to do my salmon with some classic ingredients, potatoes, fresh dill, and lots of lemon. You’ll layer the potatoes, salmon, and lemon slices on a large piece of parchment paper, then pour over a little seasoned olive oil, and then add plenty of fresh dill. From here you’ll enclose everything in the parchment paper and transfer to the oven to bake. You see? Easy. A few tips for success.
be sure to slice the potatoes extremely thin so that they cook up in the same amount of time as the salmon. I find it best to slice the potatoes thinly on a mandolin. I found that using skin off salmon worked best, as this cooked up nicely inside the parchment. if you wanted to add a layer of green veggies, I recommend thinly sliced zucchini or a handful of fresh spinach in-between the potatoes and salmon.
To serve alongside, I made a simple dill yogurt sauce that is the perfect complement to this lemony dish. I also topped the salmon with fresh arugula and basil for a nice pop of green color, plus added flavor. This recipe is very mediterranean in flavor, very fresh, and will be great for both spring and summer nights!
If you make this parchment baked salmon and love it, please be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! I love, love, love hearing from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every one of you. Oh, and of course, if you do make this salmon, don’t forget to also tag me on Instagram so I can see! I love looking at the photos of recipes you all have made. It makes my day!
The crispy potatoes on the bottom? The best.
