I love pouch cooking. Why? Because it’s easily prep-able in the morning, and you can just pop it in the fridge till you get home after a long day of school/work/errands and put it in the oven right before dinner. It makes cooking dinner a breeze! Also, it’s a everything you need for dinner…protein from the fish, veggies mixed in, and usually I add some kind of carb or grain. This time I didn’t, but served it with couscous (takes only 5 minutes to cook), so dinner was ready in no time. Also, individual portions make it harder to eat too much for all those people on diets or doing P90X.
I use wild salmon for this, but you can use your favorite kind of salmon or whatever your store recommends.
Have you ever sliced asparagus in half lengthwise? I haven’t, until I made this recipe. When I read it, I was skeptical, but I just followed Martha’s recommendation because she knows what she’s talking about and I really loved how they came out! Soft, easy to eat, cooked through, just delicious altogether. It was a little time consuming, but again, I didn’t do it right before dinner time, it was prepped in advanced and I felt calm in the evening before dinner. Calm enough to set the table, at least.
This asparagus and shiitake combo is just everywhere lately! I’ve been seeing it in all different magazines, blogs, on Pinterest. The flavors really do go well together, which is why the combination is so popular right now and why this recipe is so good! Really, try it.
This salmon was definitely a hit. We ate till we were full and then took a few more bites. Even my husband, who does not eat leftover fish, ate the leftovers for lunch the next day.
Wild Salmon with Asparagus and Shiitakes, adapted from Martha Stewart
Serves 2, but can be divided/multiplied to serve 1, 4, 8, etc.
Ingredients:
- 3.5 ounces shiitake mushrooms, thinly sliced
- 1/2 bunch asparagus (about 8 ounces), trimmed and halved lengthwise
- 3 scallions, sliced into thin rounds
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- Zest of one lemon
- Kosher salt
- Freshly ground pepper
- 2 tablespoons water
- 2 filets wild salmon, about 6 ounces each, with the skin off
- Lemon wedges, for serving
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees (unless cooking later. Then, skip this step)
2. Cut 2 12×17 pieces of parchment paper (about the size of a baking sheet) and fold in half crosswise to crease. Unfold and lay flat.
3. In a medium bowl, toss mushrooms, asparagus, scallions, and oil in a large bowl.
4. Sprinkle with lemon zest and season with salt and pepper.
5. Remove asparagus from mixture and divide evenly among pieces of parchment on one side of the crease (creating a bed for the salmon).
6. Top each with 1 piece of fish.
7. Top the fish with the mushroom and scallion mixture.
8. Drizzle each serving with 1 tablespoon water.
9. Fold the parchment by making overlapping pleats to seal (kind of like sealing a sambusak) or by folding sides over and folding the edges.
10. Bake packets on baking sheets for 9-15 minutes, or until the salmon is cooked through. (I give such a long cooking time because it really varies. You might have to crack open a piece of parchment and check on the salmon. I know I did.)
11. Remove from oven and carefully cut packets open, being careful of the steam.
12. Serve with lemon wedges on top of brown rice, couscous, wheat berries, or your favorite grain. Or just eat as is. Enjoy!
