Salmon Baked in Foil and four years of blogging

The past four years have gone by in a breeze.  So what better way to celebrate the four year milestone of this little blog than with a breezy recipe?  Thank you to all my friends out there who make this journey fun, exciting and worthwhile, who try my recipes and who read my mostly incoherent ramblings.  I couldn’t have done it without you!  Thank you all so much!! 

Recently, it would seem that I’ve been avoiding complicated recipes like the bubonic plague.  Well, maybe I’m being a tad harsh; I wasn’t so adamant at dodging any elaborate recipes per se, I just happened to be really absorbed in this phase of lazy cooking, the less cooking involved the better.  Or you can say that I’ve been basking in the realm of easy, clean and few-ingredient dishes.  

And this Salmon Baked in Foil recipe is right up that alley.  Not to mention that this is a dish Adrian and I have been feasting on more times than I care to count this summer and we’re still not tired of it.  Every time I was mulling over what to whip up for dinner, a tiny voice was growling in my head: salmon, salmon, salmon.  Besides, it’s the first year that I’m celebrating my blog’s anniversary with a non-plum related recipe.  That says a lot!    

In a nutshell, this Salmon Baked in Foil is an unpretentious and easy dish with a nice gourmet edge to it; it’s simple, superb and mess-free.  The fish is perfectly cooked and the wrapping produces a lip-smacking blend of flavorful juices and aromas.  The only downside to it – it’ll be hard if not downright impossible to order salmon in a restaurant once you’ve tried this recipe.  Pair it with this lovely Creamed Corn or this Fluffy Basmati Rice and you’ve got yourself a sinfully delicious meal!  Enjoy!   

   

Salmon Baked in Foil

Adapted from Everyday Italian by Giada de Laurentiis

Makes: 2 main-course servings

Ingredients:

·         1 medium tomato, chopped, or ½ (14-ounce) can diced tomatoes in juice, drained

·         1 shallot, chopped (if you’re not very picky, half of a small yellow onion will work just fine, too)

·         2 Tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons olive oil

·         1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice (from about half a lemon)

·         ½ teaspoon dried oregano

·         ½ teaspoon dried thyme

·         ½ teaspoon kosher salt, plus a bit more for salmon

·         ¼ teaspoon black pepper, plus a bit more for salmon

·         2 salmon fillets (about 5 ounces each)

·         Parchment paper or aluminum foil

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 400° F.  In a small bowl, stir the tomatoes, shallot, 2 Tablespoons of oil, lemon juice, oregano, thyme, ½ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper.  

Place each salmon fillet, skin side up in the center of each of two large sheets of parchment paper (or aluminum foil).  Spoon 1 teaspoon of oil over the skin of each salmon fillet.  Turn the fillets over and sprinkle with a pinch of salt and pepper.  Spoon the tomato mixture over the salmon fillets.  Fold the sides of the parchment paper over the fish and tomato mixture, covering completely, and seal the packets closed by twisting the ends.  Place the foil packets on a large, heavy baking sheet.  (The salmon packets can be prepared up to this point 6 hours ahead.  Refrigerate until ready to bake.)

Bake until the salmon is just cooked through, about 23-25 minutes.  Using a large metal spatula, transfer the foil packets to plates and serve.  (You may want to unwrap and plate the fish in the kitchen before serving.)   

Poftă Bună! (Bon Appétit!)

Fish Soup with Fennel and Baby Potatoes

Bon Appétit calls this dish a Fish Stew with Fennel and Baby Potatoes, a perfectly acceptable name except that this fish concoction seemed at odds with the description “stew” especially after I had toyed with it and custom-made it to fit my wishes.  In the end, it turned out to be a gloriously light and meaty fish and broth mélange, something that nestled comfortably between a soup and a chowder.  Rachael Ray might name this fish soup a choup, meaning that it’s thicker than a soup but not quite a chowder, but I’ll simply call it a Fish Soup with Fennel and Baby Potatoes. 

Whatever you decide to call it, make sure you try this recipe!  It’s super easy and fast to whip up and the result is deliciously refined.  I first made this soup a couple of days after I laid my eyes on it in the April issue of Bon Appétit and more than half a dozen times since.  But the best part about this simple yet flavor-complex fish soup is that it instantly brings me back to Westport, MA and The Bayside Restaurant where I used to religiously devour their legendary Rhode Island style chowders (and the ridiculously stuffed lobster roll) on our regular trips to the beach every summer when we lived in Boston.  

Overall, this dish is so refreshing and summery, piled up with subtle flavors and silky fish.  The crème fraȋche gives the soup a pleasant richness while still keeping a thin and light broth.  The corn and potatoes add a tad of sweetness and that extra level of texture, the dill brings freshness and color, whereas the highly encouraged squeeze of lemon before serving brightens up the symphony of aromas.  It is so good, you’ll make this soup all summer long!    

Fish Soup with Fennel and Baby Potatoes

Adapted from Bon Appétit (April 2014)

Makes: 6-8 servings

Ingredients:

·         ¼ cup olive oil

·         ½ lb. small waxy potatoes (such as baby Yukon Gold), scrubbed, sliced ¼” thick

·         ½ medium fennel bulb, finely chopped

·         2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

·         Salt

·         Freshly ground black pepper

·         ¼ cup dry white wine

·         1 cup frozen corn

·         Heaped ¼ cup crème fraȋche

·         1 ½ lb. skinless flounder or fluke fillet, cut into 2” pieces

·         2 Tablespoons fresh dill, chopped

·         Lemon wedges (for serving)

Instructions:

Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat.  Add the potatoes and cook them, tossing occasionally, until beginning to soften, about 3 minutes.  Add the fennel and garlic, season with salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until the fennel is soft, about 2-3 minutes.  Add the wine, bring to a boil, and cook until almost completely evaporated, about 4 minutes.  

Add the corn and 6 cups of water to the pot, season with salt, and bring to a boil.  Reduce the heat and simmer until the potatoes are tender, about 10-12 minutes.  Stir in the crème fraȋche.  Add the flounder and 2 more cups of water, cover the pot, and reduce the heat.  Simmer until the fish is cooked through, about 5-7 minutes.  

Stir the dill into the soup; season with more salt and pepper if necessary.  Serve with lemon wedges.    

  

Poftă Bună! (Bon Appétit!)