If you’re an avid reader of this blog, you know that I get really excited when something amazing can come from just a few simple ingredients. I’m a busy girl, and even though there are days when I love to putter away in the kitchen for hours, most weeknights aren’t like that. I don’t want to sacrifice good food in the name of time, though, so I really like when I run across something that’s beautifully simplistic, but delicious too.
This recipe is exactly that, and it’s good for you too!.
I started by slicing up some lemons, and then I plucked a few basil leaves from my basil plant on the patio.
I tore off four large sheets of parchment paper from my roll and then got to making up my packets.
I laid a salmon fillet, skin side down, in the center of each square of parchment. Then, I made two slices in the salmon, crosswise, and rolled up a couple of basil leaves and tucked them inside the pockets.
Then, I sprinkled the fillets with salt and pepper, drizzled them with a bit of olive oil, and laid a couple of lemon slices on top.
Once the salmon was prepped, I pulled up the sides of the parchment around the salmon to create a little packet, and tightly tied the top with some kitchen twine, making sure that there weren’t any open holes in the bundle.
As I’d been prepping the meal, I had a baking sheet heating up in the oven, so once the bundles were all wrapped up, I placed them on the hot baking sheet. Then, they baked for twenty minutes.
When I took the little packages out of the oven, they were still sizzling away. I carefully opened up each little bundle, to find a perfectly cooked salmon fillet inside.
Using a spatula, I removed each fillet easily from the skin (which stayed in the parchment) and laid the salmon over a bed of fluffy couscous. I also had some roasted green beans and peppers on the side…but that’s another blog post in the making.
The salmon was tender, and flaky, perfectly cooked. The lemon and basil flavored it subtly, but just enough. As an added bonus, my kids even ate it! They thought the little packages in the oven were pretty cool, and cool always makes dinner a little better.
Simple, delicious, AND cool! Does it get any better than that?
PARCHMENT BAKED SALMON WITH LEMON AND BASIL
Adapted from Whole Foods Market
Parchment Baked Salmon with Lemon and Basil
Recipe Type: Fish
Author: Adapted from Whole Foods Market
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 4
- 4 salmon fillets
- salt and pepper, to taste
- 1-2 lemons, thinly sliced
- 8 fresh basil leaves
- 4 tsp. olive oil
- parchment paper and kitchen twine
- Preheat your oven to 400*F, and place a baking sheet on the bottom rack of the oven as it heats up.
- Tear off four large squares of parchment paper. They need to be large enough so that when you bring the sides up, you can securely tie them off with twine around the salmon.
- Slice two shallow slices, crosswise, across each salmon fillet. Sprinkle the salmon with salt and pepper. Roll up the basil leaves and tuck a basil leaf in each of the slits in the salmon.
- Place a salmon filet in the center of each square of parchment. Drizzle each filet with a teaspoon of olive oil, and then place two lemon slices on top of the filet.
- Bring up the sides of the parchment to make a little bundle around the salmon. Tie the top tightly with the twine, making sure that there aren’t any holes in the package.
- Place the salmon bundles on the preheated cookie sheet and bake, at 400*, for 20 minutes.
- Carefully open the packages, letting the steam escape, and remove the salmon, Serve immediately. If the salmon has skin, you should be able to easily remove the fish from the skin after it’s cooked, using a spatula.
- ENJOY!
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