Sesame-Ginger Salmon en Papillote

This weekend our tv was mainly consumed by football and all of the play off games. I'm not a big football fan but Jason loves to watch and I try to during the playoffs. I was lucky enough to catch an episode of Kelsey's Essentials on the Cooking Channel before the games started. I watched her compete to be the Next Food Network Star, but she did not win. Now that they have the cooking channel it's nice to see her show and how she easily explains techniques for meals that can be altered.

The term "en Papillote" french for in parchment, is a classic technique that steams the items inside. Various cultures use this technique with what was on hand, like banana leaves or corn husks. This method can be used with most varieties of fish and whatever vegetables you have on hand and is a healthy way to cook food with a little bit of sauce/liquid. You can also use aluminum foil, I did one of each to see if there was any difference and the one in the parchment cooked more evenly but not a huge difference.

Sesame-Ginger Salmon en Papillote
Serves 4
Source: Kelsey's Essentials

Ingredients:

Zest of 1/2 an orange

1 teaspoon peeled, minced fresh ginger

3 Tablespoons low sodium soy sauce

1 Tablespoon fresh orange juice

2 teaspoons rice vinegar

2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil

2 heads baby bok choy, ends trimmed and cut into thirds through the stem

1 red bell pepper, seeded and thinly sliced

1/2 cup bean sprouts

4 (6-ounce) salmon fillets

Freshly ground black pepper

Olive oil, for brushing packets

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 425F. Combine the orange zest, ginger, soy sauce, orange juice, vinegar, and sesame oil together in a small bowl; set aside.

Fold 4 (16 by-12-inch) parchment paper squares in 1/2 lengthwise. Evenly divide the bok choy, peppers, and bean sprouts among the 4 parchment packets. Season the vegetables with 1 tablespoon sesame-ginger marinade. Place a salmon fillet on top of the vegetables and season with the black pepper and an additional tablespoon of the marinade.

Fold the top half of the parchment over the fish, and overlap small folds along the open edge to seal. Brush each packet with olive oil. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, until the parchment paper puffs up.

Transfer the parchment packets to plates. Carefully cut the packets open, avoiding the hot steam, and serve. Then throw out the packets for an easy clean up!