Vegetables, Salmon, and Pasta in Parchment
- Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients
- 4 (4 ounce) wild caught salmon fillets, skin removed
- 6tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 red onion, thinly sliced
- 2cloves garlic, minced
- 1 red bell pepper, julienned
- 1cup snow peas
- 1/4cup Dijon mustard plus 2 tablespoons
- 1cup chopped kale
- 4cups cooked whole-wheat pasta (preferably a short pasta, like a penne)
- 1/4cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
- 2tablespoons fresh oregano
- 2tablespoons chopped fresh basil
- 2tablespoons low-fat grated Parmesan cheese
- 2medium plum tomatoes, thinly sliced and patted dry
- 1/2cup Balsamic Vinegar Reduction
- Salt and pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Salt and pepper the salmon fillets, set aside. Sauté the onion and garlic in 1 tablespoon olive oil until soft and set aside.
- Place the bell pepper, squash, carrot, snow peas, kale, cooked onions, and garlic in a large bowl. Add 2 tablespoons olive oil, and ¼ cup of the Dijon mustard. Mix well until all veggies are coated. Salt and pepper to taste. Pour remaining 3 tablespoons olive oil onto pasta. Toss with Parmesan cheese, parsley, oregano, and basil.
- Fold four 15-inch square pieces of kitchen parchment paper in half. One piece at a time, starting near the top of the fold, draw a half of a heart, using as much of the paper as possible, and ending at the bottom of the fold. Cut the heart shapes out along your drawn lines. Then open the heart shapes up and lay flat on a large surface. Place ¼ of cooked pasta on each sheet next to the fold, about 1/3 down from the top of the heart. Top with ¼ of the vegetable medley. Place a salmon fillet on top of vegetables of each packet. Spread the remaining 2 tablespoons of Dijon mustard split evenly over each piece of salmon. Place the sliced tomatoes over each piece of salmon, covering the fish. Fold the parchment over to close the heart, and starting at top of heart shape, fold in both edges of parchment, overlapping folds as you move along the entire heart shape towards the bottom. When you reach the end tip, twist and fold under the packet. Packets should be tightly sealed.
- Place packets on a baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes. When finished, serve on individual plates. With scissors, cut an “x” in top of each packet and peel back. Drizzle 2 tablespoons of Balsamic Vinegar Reduction within each open packet. What fun!
Balsamic Vinegar Reduction:
- Place 2 cups balsamic vinegar in the top of a double boiler. Cook slowly, stirring often until liquid is reduced by 50% (watch the vinegar closely; when the vinegar begins to thicken, it will happen quickly). Remove from stove and pour into a different container to avoid vinegar continuing to cook.
