Baked Salmon and Veggie Parcels #FishFridayFoodies

Baked salmon and veggie parcels are an easy delicious meal that comes together quickly and, as a bonus, there are no pots or pans to wash up!



This month my Fish Friday Foodie friends are sharing recipes inspired by our travels. For my contribution, I reached way back to my backpacking days when my fellow Girl Scouts and I would cook whole meals wrapped in foil over a campfire.

We never did anything as fancy as salmon with asparagus, of course! But we did enjoy some fabulous meals under the stars. There is no more delicious meal than one that follows an all-day hike in the piney woods of East Texas, or really, anywhere outdoors.

The salmon and asparagus idea came from a dish I ate many moons ago in a seaside restaurant in Sydney. They look so pretty on a plate together, don’t you think? Especially if you add a slice of lemon. For my rendition, I also love the way the yellow squash peeks out, adding a little extra pop of color to echo the yellow of the lemon slice.

Baked Salmon and Veggie Parcels

These little dinner packets are easily customizable to use whatever seafood and vegetables you have on hand. Just make sure than any raw vegetables are thin or thinly sliced so they can cook quickly. Vegetables that take longer to cook, like potatoes, should be cooked ahead.

Ingredients
For the parcels:
4 teaspoons olive oil
1 small yellow squash
4-5 small cooked red potatoes
1/4 purple onion, sliced very thinly
4 wild salmon fillets
4 teaspoons butter
12 fresh asparagus stalks
4 slices lemon
salt
freshly ground black pepper
ground cayenne pepper

To garnish:
chopped parsley

Method
Preheat the oven to 400°C or 200°F.

Cut the ends off of the yellow squash and slice it thinly. Cut the cooked potatoes in 1/4 in or 6mm slices. Trim the hard ends off of the asparagus and then cut them into lengths about the same size as your salmon fillets.

Salt and pepper the salmon fillets.

Lay your foil out and drizzle the middle of the sheet with one teaspoon of olive oil about the size of your salmon fillet. Top the olive oil with one quarter of the slices of yellow squash and then potato. Salt and pepper the potatoes.

Top the potatoes with one of the salmon fillets then add 1 teaspoon of butter in two pieces.

Press a few slices of onion into the butter along with one quarter of the asparagus pieces. The butter helps hold them all neatly on top.

Top the whole pile with a lemon slice.

Pull the foil edges together and fold them over to seal the parcel. Repeat the process to create the other three salmon and veggie parcels.

Place all four parcels onto a baking tray and bake in the hot oven for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the salmon is cooked through.

Wild salmon takes less time to cook since the fillets are generally thinner and less fatty than farmed salmon. I find that 15 minutes is enough time for wild salmon to be done to our liking. Farmed salmon may take that extra five minutes. If you are unsure, by all means, check for doneness by cutting into one of the fillets before plating.

When time’s up on the salmon, remove the baking pan from the oven and leave to stand for 1 minute.

Carefully open each parcel so you don't burn yourself with the steam that will pour out. Use a wide spatula to slide the pile onto a plate. Sprinkle on a little chopped parsley, if desired.

Enjoy!

Check out all the other great seafood recipes my Fish Friday Foodie friends are sharing today that have been inspired by their travels. Many thanks to our host, Camilla of Culinary Adventures with Camilla for this great theme!

• Baked Salmon and Veggie Parcels by Food Lust People Love
• Foiled Fish with Mango by A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Fried Bombils and Bombay Ducks with Temprado Masala by Sneha's Recipe
• Irish Fish Cakes by Karen's Kitchen Stores
• Pickled Fish, A Plethora of Textures, and Memories of a Holiday Trip to Denmark by Culinary Adventures with Camilla
• Senegalese Fish and Rice (Thiéboudienne) by Making Miracles

Would you like to join Fish Friday Foodies? We post and share new seafood/fish recipes on the third Friday of the month. To join our group please email Wendy at wendyklik1517 (at) gmail.com. Visit our Facebook page and Pinterest page for more wonderful fish and seafood recipe ideas.

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Herb Butter Poached Wild Salmon #FishFridayFoodies

Herb butter poached wild salmon is tender and flavorful. The herbs complement the delicate flavor of the fish, and the simmering butter ensures that it won’t overcook or dry out.

I’m a fan of all salmon but I especially love the flavor of wild sockeye salmon. This is going to sound odd perhaps, but it reminds me more of crab than of its relation, farmed salmon. Aside from cost, the only problem with wild salmon is that it is so lean that it’s easy to overcook, if you are not careful. Nobody wants dry fish. Fish should be tender and flaky, and even, (dare I use the hated word?) moist.

Poaching to the rescue! One can, of course, poach seafood in all sorts of liquids. As a matter of fact, if you scroll on down past my wild salmon, you’ll find links to several recipes since that’s this month’s theme for my Fish Friday Foodies group. While researching methods, I came across a recipe for butter poaching fish and thought, sure. Confit duck is essentially duck poached long and slow in duck fat. No good reason why we can’t poach fish in butter. It just hadn’t occurred to me.

Wild salmon is perfect for poaching in herb butter. It cooks relatively quickly, even on a gentle simmer, and turns out so very - here I go again - moist. I’m not sure I can cook it any other way now. Such a treat.

I mean, really. Look at that color. Delicious as it can also be, farmed salmon cannot outdo wild salmon for color. Some people even say it's better for us.

Herb Butter Poached Wild Salmon

Do not worry about all the “leftover” butter. It can be used to flavor vegetables, in another seafood dish or chill it and pop it in an airtight bag in the freezer to keep for the next time you poach fish.

Ingredients
4 wild salmon fillets (about 1 lb or 450g in total)
1 1/2 cups or 340g butter
A few sprigs parsley
A few sprigs thyme
Fine sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Ground cayenne pepper
To serve: slices of lemon

Method
Remove any hard stems from the herbs and chop them finely. Season the fish fillets with a sprinkle of salt and the two peppers, on both sides.

Melt the butter in as small a pan as will fit your fish, with high enough sides to contain butter to cover. As it warms up, add in the minced herbs.

Gently add the fish fillets to the herbed butter, skin side down. Poach the salmon over a low heat until it flakes easily, about 10 minutes. If the butter doesn't quite cover it, spoon the simmering butter over it occasionally.

Remove the fish fillets from the herb butter. Serve with a spoonful of the herb butter over each fillet and a slice of juicy lemon.

Enjoy!

Check out all the lovely poached fish recipes my Fish Friday Foodie friends are sharing today. Many thanks to our group creator and organizer, Wendy from A Day in the Life on the Farm for this great theme and all of her behind the scenes work that keeps this blogging event running so smoothly.

• Chamomile-Poached Sand Dabs with Candy Caps from Culinary Adventures with Camilla
• Herb Butter Poached Wild Salmon from Food Lust People Love
• Poached Cod Cantonese-Style with Chiles from Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Poached Prawn Cocktail from Sneha's Recipe
• Poached Salmon with Bourbon Cream Sauce from Palatable Pastime
• Poached Sole with Caper Sauce from Sid's Sea Palm Cooking
• Tomato Basil Poached Fish from Making Miracles
• Tomato Poached Cod over Egg Noodles from A Day in the Life on the Farm

Would you like to join Fish Friday Foodies? We post and share new seafood/fish recipes on the third Friday of the month. To join our group please email Wendy at wendyklik1517 (at) gmail.com. Visit our Facebook page and Pinterest page for more wonderful fish and seafood recipe ideas.

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Simple Salmon Sliders with Sesame Ginger Slaw #FishFridayFoodies

These simple salmon sliders are easy to make and take mere minutes to cook. Topped with sesame ginger slaw, they are fresh and flavorful, a fun appetizer or main course your friends and family will love.

Lately the fishmonger in my closest supermarket has taken to making salmon patties and packaging them up for sale in twos on the fish counter. While I appreciate his efforts, I cannot bring myself to buy chopped up fish that is possibly almost or just past its best. If I'm going to buy salmon, I like a fillet or even a cross-section – bones don’t bother me, they add flavor – where I can see if the fish seems firm and moist and fresh.

But that doesn’t mean I don’t like salmon patties, big or small. I just like to make them myself. If you have a food processor, they are also very simple to make and no fillers like bread or egg are needed. Who knows what the supermarket guy is putting in!

Simple Salmon Sliders with Sesame Ginger Slaw

Feel free to substitute your favorite fresh greens or slaw to top these little guys. Or skip the salad altogether and serve them with a small dollop of mayo mixed with sriracha sauce.

Ingredients - 24 sliders
For the sliders:
2 lbs or 900g fresh salmon, skinned and cut in chunks
8 oz or 225g smoked salmon
Small bundle green onions, both white and green tops, chopped finely
Black pepper
Salt - may not be necessary

To serve:
24 small buns
broccoli slaw
Optional: sriracha for serving

For the broccoli slaw:
1/2 purple onion, sliced thinly
1/2 cup or 120ml sesame ginger dressing or dressing of your choice
12 oz or 340g package broccoli slaw

Method
In a medium sized bowl (or a plastic container), pour a few tablespoons of the dressing over the sliced onion and leave to marinate for a few minutes. This takes a little of the sharpness and burn out of the onion.

Add the rest of the broccoli slaw to the bowl and toss with balance of the dressing. Cover the bowl with cling film (or the container with its lid) and put it in the refrigerator until you are ready almost ready to serve.

To make the salmon patties, chop the smoked salmon with a sharp knife and pop it in a food processor with the green onions and a few good grinds of black pepper. Give it a few quick pulses to combine the ingredients.

Add some of the fresh salmon – about ½ lb or 225g - to the food processor.

Process until you have a thick, chunky paste. This is what is going to hold the rest of the salmon together in patties. Scrape this mixture out of the food processor and into a large mixing bowl.

Chop the rest of the salmon into small pieces with a sharp knife. Add these to the bowl with the salmon paste and mix well with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula until thoroughly combined.

Heat your griddle or nonstick pan and cook a teaspoonful of the mixture. Add salt to taste. You might find, as I do, that the smoked salmon adds enough salt and no more is necessary.

Divide the salmon mixture into 24 small piles. Form these into patties, wetting your hands occasionally as you go along, to stop the mixture from sticking to them.

Put your oven on warm and fold a sheet of foil on a baking pan and put it in the oven.

Heat your griddle or nonstick pan again over a medium high heat and panfry the salmon patties a few at a time until browned on both sides and cooked through.

This just takes mere minutes.

Transfer cooked patties to the oven, tucking them between the fold of the foil, to keep them warm.

Slice the buns in half and top each with a salmon patty, broccoli slaw and, if desired, a squirt of sriracha.

Enjoy!

This month my Fish Friday Foodie group is sharing sandwiches made with seafood so you’ve got plenty of tasty choices to check out below. Many thanks to this month’s host, Sue of Palatable Pastime.

An InLinkz Link-up

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Hot Smoked Salmon Choux Bites #BakingBloggers

Airy and light, choux buns can be stuffed with either sweet or savory fillings. My hot smoked salmon choux bites have a rich, flavorful filling that perfectly complements the fluffy buns. Serve these at your next gathering and watch them disappear.

Choux pastry often shows up in patisseries or bakeries in fancy shapes like eclairs or choux swans filled with sweetened custards or whipped cream so most folks imagine it must be hard to make. Nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, although I used to beat the requisite eggs into the dough by hand, I have discovered that it can be done in my stand mixer. Now choux is even faster and easier than ever to make.

One of the things I like best about choux pastry is that it lends itself equally well to sweet desserts, like my lemon raspberry croquembouche or savory appetizers, like these hot smoked salmon choux bites. And, another bonus, it is made with ingredients most people almost invariably have on hand. Water, flour, butter and eggs. And just a little of those four go a long way!

This month my fellow Baking Bloggers are sharing our favorite choux pastry recipes. If you’ve been nervous about giving it a try, perhaps we can convince you that it really is easy.

Hot Smoked Salmon Choux Bites

These tasty hot smoked salmon choux bites are a great make-ahead appetizer. Bake your choux buns and make your filling, just fill and serve at party time. Makes about 24-30.

Ingredients
For the choux pastry:
1/4 cup or 50g butter
1/2 cup or 120ml water
1/2 cup or 65g plain flour
1 pinch salt
2 eggs, at room temperature

For the hot smoked salmon filling:
7 ounces or 200g smoked salmon (Mine was hot smoked so it looks more "cooked" than cold smoked salmon. But you can use either.)
5 oz or about 145g cream cheese, at room temperature
3 1/2 oz or 100g Boursin garlic and fine herb soft cheese or an equivalent
2-3 green onion tops, chopped
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard powder
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/3 cup or 80ml heavy cream

Optional for decorating: Maille mustard with fine herbs or tarragon.
I used the mustard with tarragon, which was quite delicious because salmon and mustard do go nicely together, especially with a hot smoked salmon filling as rich as this one. But I must confess that I bought it initially just because of the color. Perhaps you will be lucky enough to find it where you live.

Method
Preheat your oven to 445°F or 230°C and prepare your baking sheet by lining it with baking parchment stuck down with a little non-stick spray.

Tip: Make your life easier by using a bottle top or some other round object as a template to draw circles on the bottom of your parchment paper. Turn the parchment over and use the pencil circles as a guide for piping your choux pastry. You want 1 inch or 2.5cm circles about an equal measure apart on the parchment. I've included the bottle cap I used in the photos so you can see how small the choux buns started out and how much they puffed up when baked. (I did not bake the cap!)

To make your choux pastry buns, sift together your flour and a pinch of salt and put it right next to the stove in readiness.

In a medium pot, combine the butter and water and bring to the boil. Pour the flour/salt mixture into the boiling water/butter all at once.

Stir vigorously with a wooden spoon until the mixture forms a ball and pulls right away from the sides. This takes just a minute or two. Now take the pot off of the stove and tip the mixture into your stand mixer.

(This can also be done the traditional way, by hand with a wooden spoon. Check out my croquembouche recipe to see how that's done.) Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well. It looks like the egg won’t mix in and the dough starts to fall apart but keep mixing and after a little beating, the dough comes together again and it’s time to add the second egg.

After that egg has been incorporated into the dough, put the dough by spoonfuls into a piping bag with a large tip.

Pipe the soft dough on the parchment paper in 1 inch or 2.5cm circles about an equal measure apart from each other, using your circles as a guide, if you followed the tip above. Poke down any pointy tops with a damp finger.

Bake the choux in your preheated oven for 10 minutes then turn the temperature down to 350°F or 180°C and bake for a further 25-30 minutes or until golden.

Remove from the oven and poke a hole in one side of each choux bun with a toothpick. This allows the steam to escape and helps the choux bun keep its shape as it cools. Cool completely on a wire rack.

While the choux buns are baking, you can make your hot smoked salmon filling. Use a fork to flake the fish, discarding any bones that might have been missed when it was filleted.

In a bowl, mix together your filling ingredients up to the cream. Add and mix in cream a couple of tablespoons at a time, until you get a nice consistency to your filling, not too soft but definitely spoon-able. You may not use all of the cream. Or if your salmon was on the dry side, you might want a little more.

If you aren’t serving the hot smoked salmon choux bites immediately, store the filling covered with cling film in the refrigerator and, once the choux buns are completely cooled, store them in an airtight container.

When you are ready to serve, cut the choux buns in half and fill with a good spoon of the chilled hot smoked salmon filling.

Put the top of the choux bun back on. Decorate by piping on some herby mustard, if desired.

You may have noticed that I made so many more than are in the photographs. That’s because I took some to a dinner party and filled them there. The rest? I ate them. So good!

Enjoy!

Many thanks to one of our fearless leaders and this month’s host, Sue of Palatable Pastime. Check out all the choux pastry recipes!

• Boston Cream Puffs by Cookaholic Wife
• Burnt Caramel Croquembouche by Culinary Adventures with Camilla
• Cannoli Cream Puffs by The RedHead Baker
• Cream Puffs with Ice Cream and Chocolate by Sneha’s Recipe
• Double Chocolate Cream Puffs by Cindy’s Recipes and Writings
• Gougères - French Cheese Puffs by Karen’s Kitchen Stories
• Ham Salad Pate a Choux by A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Hot Smoked Salmon Choux Bites by Food Lust People Love
• Strawberry Cream Puffs by Palatable Pastime

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