Salmon en Papillote with Chimichurri
I love quick fish dishes. They are healthy, largely pleasing to my family and Q-U-I-C-K, which I need. In a rush? Make the chimichurri or farro ahead to speed this up.
Serves 6
Ingredients:
Salmon:
1 1/2 lbs fresh salmon, cut into 4 oz filets
3 cups farro
1/2 cup garlic butter, store bought (or homemade option below)
3 lemons, sliced into thin slices
Kosher salt
Pepper
Chimichurri:
2 cups well packed fresh parsley
1 cup well packed fresh cilantro
1 tsp dried oregano
1 small shallot
3 garlic cloves
3 Tbsp red wine vinegar
2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 tsp salt, or to taste
½ tsp red pepper flakes
½ - ¾ cup olive oil
Directions:
Heat a medium sauce pan over high heat. Add cups of water and lightly salt. Bring to a boil. Once boiling, add farro. Turn head down to low and cover. Cook 15 minutes or until liquid is mostly absorbed. Drain any excess liquid. Your farro will be slightly al dente. You don’t want to over cook since it will go into the oven.
Heat a medium sauce pan over high heat. Add cups of water and lightly salt. Bring to a boil. Once boiling, add Farris. Turn head down to low and cover.
While farro is cooking, prepare the rest of the dish. Start by making chimichurri. To prepare chimichurri, utilize a food processor. Add all ingredients and ½ cup of olive oil. Process until smooth. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed. If mixture is too thick, more olive oil can be added to thin it out.
To prepare packets, tear pieces of parchment paper roughly 10” wide. You will need one piece of paper for each serving. (Note, I also found some easy, pre-made parchment bags on Amazon which are great, too. Spoon 1/4 of the cooked farro onto parchment. Start with one filet of salmon. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Top with 2 pats of garlic butter. Top with 2 slices of lemon. Lay on top of farro. Spoon 1/4 of chimichurri on top.
Grab two opposite sides of paper and meet at the top, then roll down tightly to close packet. Twist the remaining two ends and tuck under to make a tight seal. Repeat for remaining packets, then trans
Herby Garlic Butter:
1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
2 garlic cloves
1/3 – 1/2 cup fresh herbs (I like a combination of sage, chives and thyme)
Zest of a lemon
Directions:
To make compound butter, finely chop garlic and herbs and add to a bowl along with room temperature butter, lemon zest, and ¼ teaspoon salt. Stir well with a spoon or small spatula to incorporate everything evenly into the butter. Alternatively, throw everything into a food processor and pulse until evenly combined and no large pieces of herb remain. Butter can be made ahead, and leftovers can be kept in the fridge for up to two weeks.
Bake packets for 10-12 minutes. Serve packets still sealed to keep salmon warm - it’s fun to tear these open when you’re ready to eat! Warm French bread is great to soak up any extra sauce or juice.