Recipe

Salmon Papillotes with Red Peppercorns, Lime and Fresh Ginger

Your Best New Year's Resolution Dish Contest Runner-up!

Salmon Papillotes with Red Peppercorns, Lime and Fresh Ginger

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by Sarah Shatz

Salmon Papillotes with Red Peppercorns, Lime and Fresh Ginger

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by Babette's Feast

  • This recipe was entered in the contest for Your Best New Year's Resolution Dish
  • A&M's Testing Notes: We loved the varied grid of seasonings, all so simple to assemble and each contributing generous amounts of flavor. The final touch -- a sprinkling of fresh cream over the gently cooked salmon...

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  • Chef

    Babette's Feast's Notes: My New Year’s decision regarding food is to eat more fresh fish. Although it’s harder to find then meat it’s worth while going the extra mile to buy good fresh fish, preferably not farmed...

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Serves 5

  1. Take 2 large pieces of aluminium foil (or parchment paper) the same length and put one on top of the other, both shiny sides outside. Roll together on the length the aluminium foil together to make a seam and tighten it. Roll this seam 2 more times and press on it so the 2 pieces of aluminium foil are tight together. Gently open the aluminium foil. Press on the seam which is now in the middle and you have a double width aluminium piece of foil that can take all the pieces inside. Turn the aluminium so the seam is perpendicular to you and you have a wide aluminium piece. Fold it in half and lightly press so you know where the middle is.

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  2. Clean the salmon fillets of all bones and if you prefer take the skin. Otherwise when putting the fish on the aluminium put it skin down. Season the salmon fillets with a pinch of salt, freshly ground Sichuan pepper, lime juice and grated ginger.

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  3. Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees F.

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  4. Place the aluminium foil on a baking tray so that the bottom half is sitting on the tray. Drizzle the olive oil on the aluminium half nearer to you, place the salmon with the seasoning and add the red peppercorns that you lightly crush with your hands. Place the dill on top of each salmon fillet and fold the top half of the aluminium towards you. Go round the aluminium folding together the 2 foils (top and bottom) 2 or 3 times so you completely seal all around.

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  5. Bake in the oven around 10 minutes, depending how thick the fish fillets are. The papillote, if closed tightly, should blow up with the steam that the water in the fish let’s out.

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  6. Discard the dill, serve one fillet per person on a bed of sautéed vegetables for example spinach. Place on top of each salmon fillet 1 teaspoon of thick cream, sprinkle with some chopped chives and a little Fleur de Sel.

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Reply

We made this, but subbed fennel fronds for the dill and skipped the cream. It was delicious that way too!

Reply

I added sweet white miso to the ginger mixture.

Served with bulger, mushrooms, kale and onions.

Delish! Thanks for sharing.

Reply

Hello, is it possible to use black pepper or perhaps white if Sichuan isn't available and is heavy cream another way of saying thick cream?

Thanks,

Wedding_pictures_162 Reply

Hi Babette--I made this tonight for a dinner party. Everyone LOVED it--even my husband who allegedly hates ginger. I prepared everything ahead of time and just popped it into the oven. The fish was perfectly cooked and the sauce was delicious. Great recipe.

New_years_kitchen_hlc_only Reply

Prepared this last night and it was a huge success. Needed more than ten minutes, even though my salmon was about 3/4" thick, and my convection oven was at 400 F. It's possible that my packet wasn't sealed tightly enough, though quite a bit of steam came out when I opened it. In any event, the dish was quite tasty! I look forward to using this method to experiment with different types of salmon and flavoring ingredients.

Babette_s_feast Reply

AntoniaJames, I am so happy you tried my recipe. The papillote has to be completely closed like a pressure cooker. You need to roll and press the seams of the aluminium packet in such a way that the water in the fish stays inside and creates steam. The papillote will inflate like a balloon because no steam escapes. Literally, when you see the packet ballooning, the fish is ready, just be very, very careful when opening because there is all this very hot steam inside, so make 2 or 3 holes with a toothpick to let out the steam before you open the top of the papillote. Also try nit ripping the aluminium all the way down because you will have some cooking liquid inside that is very tasty.

New_years_kitchen_hlc_only Reply

We definitely had cooking liquid, which I poured on the salmon. It was so delicious. What a great recipe!! I've never made salmon indoors that was such a pleasure to eat. To you I am eternally grateful. ;o)

Reply

It's been years (decades?) since I made salmon en papillote. This recipe brought it all back. The ginger-lime-peppercorn (pink and sichuan) combo was great. Thanks!

Maria_teresa_jorge_colour Reply

Thank you for your comment.

Reply

Great recipe, but tell me please, where do you get the fresh, wild salmon recommended at this time of year when no one is fishing for them. I'll wait til Spring for this one.

Babette_s_feast Reply

I have a fishmonger that imports salmon from Scotland. But you can make it with seabass and other types of fleshy fish. Thank you for your comment.

New_years_kitchen_hlc_only Reply

Gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous!! Your recipes make me want to stop whatever I'm doing, go food shopping and then make the dish right away. I recently bought some tasty rose salt, which comes from a salt lake high in the Andes (courtesy of Spanish Table, one of my favorite specialty shops), and have been thinking it would be so fun to use it with pink peppercorns. This one is on the menu for next week, probably Sunday, which is my shopping day!!

Babette_s_feast Reply

Thank you for your comment. I also have pink salt from the Himalayas, but I actually like my Fleur de sel so much I didn't think of making an all pink dish - that would really make my graddaughter's day... all pink!

Picture_6 Reply

This is my new year's resolution too - and this recipe seems like it would taste great on any type of fish!

Babette_s_feast Reply

Yeap, more natural fish can only be a good new year resolution. Thank you for your comment

186003_1004761561_1198459_n Reply

Fresh wild salmon is my favorite food. Pink peppercorns are something I love to add on anything from fish to meat to chocolate cake! Voting for you was a no brainer for me!....Great recipe too!

Babette_s_feast Reply

Wow, thank you, I am reaaly excited my recipe was chosen for the finalist. Thank you for your vote.

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