Salmon in Papillotte Recipe

Here it is, my "use what's left in the fridge" ingredients for a fantastic, once only! Recipe (ha!). Using frozen salmon is fine since having fresh salmon steaks hanging around in the fridge doesn't last very long. Bring the filets to a thaw before cooking. T reducing the cooking time and the water in the sauce.

What's great about cooking "en papillotte" is that you chuck everything into the paper/foil, wrap it up, bake it, and there's no clean up because you toss the used foil/paper.  This cooking technique is an excellent one to keep in mind when you are tired, put in more than a full day's work, and just want to forget about any clean up.  a.k.a. minimum effort for maximum meal.

Slice the zucchini as thinly as you can so that they cook faster.  Nothing worse than having half cooked zucchini.  I mean really, who likes raw zucchini?
Also I don't peel the zucchini because it "holds together" better with the skin and adds nice color contrast to the pink salmon.  But if you are serving children who abhor zucchini, peeling helps "hide" the vegetable.

A lovely platter of French cheeses, a green salad with sharp vinaigrette dressing and a slice of whole grain, peasant bread, rounds out this no-fuss meal.

Salmon "En Papillotte" with Sliced Zucchini

*1/2 whole salmon, with skin or 4 salmon filets
*4 tablespoons half and half cream or heavy cream
*1/4 cup or 1/2 a small bunch chopped parsley, fresh or frozen and thawed
*3 cloves garlic, minced 
*2 medium zucchini, unpeeled, thinly sliced
*Fleur de sel sea salt to taste
*Fleshly cracked pepper to taste
*half a lemon (for juice)
*aluminum foil

*Preheat oven to 350° or 200°C; rinse salmon under cold water, pat dry with towel.

*Tear off long sheet of aluminum foil; rub lemon half down center of foil (this helps to keep the fish from sticking to the foil while baking); place filet in foil. Salt and pepper to taste.

*Prepare the persillade sauce: combine the parsley and garlic in a bowl; add half and half cream (traditionally it's butter that you add but for a thicker sauce, heavy cream works best).   Slice zucchini and set aside.

*Pour or baste half the persillade over fish, add zucchini slices and pour over remaining persillade; fold foil up over fish; place the "papillotte" on cookie sheet and bake for 20-30 minutes or until cooked through.