En papillote (PAH-peh-loht) is French for “in paper,” which is how this dish is made. This method of cooking steams the food and allows you to cook without fat, but we did add a little butter, thyme, and lemon for flavor. This is a really simple, foolproof way to cook fish and, best of all, it makes for easy cleanup.
Recipe information
Yield
serves 4
Ingredients
Vegetables
Salmon
Preparation
Step 1
To prepare the vegetables: Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Step 2
Place 4 sheets of parchment paper on a work surface. Trim the cauliflower and broccoli florets from the stems, discarding the stems, and divide the florets among the parchment sheets.
Step 3
Peel the carrot and cut into 1/16-to 1/8-inch-thick round slices. Place some of the carrots on each parchment sheet. Cut the ends off the green beans and cut each bean into 3 or 4 pieces. Arrange some of the beans on each parchment sheet and top with 1 teaspoon of butter. Place 2 thyme sprigs and 1 teaspoon of water on each parchment sheet. Season with salt and pepper. Bring the sides of the parchment to the middle and fold over three times, about 1/2 inch each time. Fold the ends of the parchment and tuck them under the package to loosely enclose the vegetables. Place the vegetable packets on an ungreased baking sheet and bake for 25 minutes.
Step 4
Meanwhile, prepare the salmon: Lay 4 sheets of parchment paper on a work surface and place 1 salmon fillet in the center of each sheet. Cut 2 of the lemons in half, remove the seeds, and squeeze the juice from 1 lemon half on each salmon fillet. Season with salt and pepper and top each fillet with 2 thyme sprigs. Bring the sides of the parchment to the middle and fold over three times, about 1/2 inch each time. Fold the ends of the parchment and tuck them under the package, loosely enclosing the salmon. Add the salmon packets to the baking sheet and bake them for 10 minutes. (If your pieces of salmon are thicker than 3/4 inch, you will need to cook them up to 5 minutes longer.)
Step 5
Cut the remaining lemon into 8 wedges.
Step 6
Remove the salmon and vegetables from the parchment and arrange them on plates with the lemon wedges.
