I am a sucker for good seafood. I tend to travel to places where seafood is a staple dish - Greece, Hawaii, Costa Rica, San Francisco, etc. The problem is, I don't get very creative when cooking it myself. I'm solid in terms of crustacean recipes, but when it comes to fish, I have three recipes - two for salmon (one Italian-inspired, one Asian-inspired), and one for any white fish (parmesan crust that will be featured very soon). So here's the Italian salmon one.
I chatted up the fish monger at Whole Foods and picked out a beautiful piece of salmon. Whole foods can be expensive if you do all your shopping there, but I go there for any animal I'm going to eat. When it comes to animal protein, I am way more concerned with quality, organic, local when possible than I am about produce. I also am a huge environmentalist, and the factory farm industry is a major contributor to greenhouse gases and why our planet is falling apart. So I appreciate the fact that Whole Foods cares about sustainability and sources most of its products from organizations that care about that too. Yes it's more expensive, but totally worth it to me. And plus, since it's more expensive, we tend to ration it out a bit more which is not a bad thing from a nutrition and environmental perspective. Replacing animal protein with veggie protein a few times a week is a GREAT way to keep your body detoxed and help keep your liver and GI tract healthy.
Additionally, re-read the first sentence of the last paragraph... one of my favorite things about Whole Foods is how knowledgeable the staff are in their respective departments. The conversations I've had with the butchers, fromagers, and fish mongers are miles above what I feel like I could get out of the staff at most other grocers. So when I have questions or need to talk before making a purchase, it's ALWAYS Whole Foods for me.
Ok... to the "recipe." And again, we already learned how I write "recipes" - there isn't really any measuring. I took pictures of each step this time though, so you could follow along.
My ingredients: Sodium-free Italian Seasoning blend, dried basil, granulated garlic, salt, pepper, lemon slices, and olive oil. In a perfect world, I would have used several cloves of fresh cut garlic, but it was 8:30pm and I was hungry so I went with the quick stuff. Still delish.
Here's the order to sprinkle them all on the salmon: Salt, pepper, olive oil, garlic (granulated or fresh), basil, Italian seasoning. I just do a couple of drizzles - not a lot. Salmon is a very fatty fish to begin with, though it's amazing healthy fats that your body needs and that are necessary for proper neural activity and also good for your eyes. So don't over-do the oil, you're basically just putting a little bit on so that the herbs stick to the salmon. You could even use an olive oil cooking spray if you wanted. And as for the herbs, you can see the thickness of the "crust" that I use.
Then layer the lemon slices on top of the salmon like so...
And fold the parchment around the salmon to make a packet. Do your best oragami so that the parchment is actually sealed. The point is that as the fish cooks and gets hot, the parchment traps in the steam, and your fish basically steams. This keeps it moist and flaky and delicious. So use a lot of parchment - then fold two sides towards the middle, hold them together up above the fish, then roll down towards the fish till sealed. Then crimp in both open sides to fully seal.
Cook at between 375 - 400 for ~20-25 minutes. Depends on your oven and on the size of the piece of salmon. Warning - if you have any loose edges on the parchment (like I had here), IT WILL SMOKE in the oven! So either tuck in all loose ends, or go for 375 and a slightly longer time.
To test if the salmon is done, stick a fork right in the middle. It should flake away pretty easily. If you got a good quality salmon, please don't cook it to death... if the middle is slightly darker than the edges, that's ok. And probably preferred.
I meant to get a picture of it completed and unwrapped, but I was starving and forgot. So here's the skin in the cooked parchment after removing the flesh and portioning it out.
My serving - about 5 ounces. I love fresh lemon on my seafood, because it helps me use less salt, which is my weakness! Less sodium = less water retention!
It always comes out so incredibly moist, flaky, and delicious!
Because I can't just have salmon, we made a quick salad with whatever veggies we had in the fridge. Romaine lettuce, yellow peppers, onions, kalamata olives. Dressing is always the same: red wine vinegar, extra virgin olive oil, kosher salt, granulated garlic. Dress lightly, toss, taste, adjust ingredients, toss, taste, repeat until delicious.
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