En papillote is quite a popular method of cooking in this household. Wrap a piece of meat or fish in parchment paper or foil, pop it in the oven, set the timer and forget about it for a while. Exactly our kind of effortless cooking! So luckily for us, this week's French Fridays with Dorie recipe, Salmon and Tomatoes En Papillote, urged us to employ this method for baking our salmon. It was no major hardship and produced a result that was quite satisfying.
My concession this week was to use firm nectarines in place of cherry tomatoes, because I couldn't be bothered to run out to the store again to get them. I said 'again' because the first trip out was to buy the salmon fillets, during which I of course promptly forgot the said tomatoes (too many things to remember, as we are in the midst of moving house right now). But the nectarines were rather good as substitutes because the ones I had were semi-ripe and retained some of their tartness, yet at the same time were a touch sweeter than tomatoes.
Fresh herbs from my garden
I plucked purple basil, regular Thai basil and spring onions from my tiny garden. While I often wished for a bigger herb garden, I can't complain much because it has been really good to me, especially in situations like this. Besides, I couldn't manage a bigger variety of herbs because I have so-called 'warm hands'.... most of what I sow don't tend to survive past the seedling stage.
So I have this trick that I play against Mother Nature. It's rather sneaky but I have no choice... what I normally do is get my mother to successfully sow the seeds and re-pot seedlings, then when they are sturdy enough for me to handle, I hijack them and take them home! Some have survived, but some, like my rosemary and dill, have stubbornly refused to be nurtured by these warm hands.
I wouldn't say the flavors of this dish wowed me too much, though it wasn't all that bad, really. I thought it lacked a certain je ne sais quoi, maybe it's the garlic which I always, always sprinkle on my salmon... but didn't this time round (see, I was good at adhering to most of Dorie's specifications!).
Anyhow, I'm setting this post to a scheduled posting date because by the time today rolls around, I'll probably be shoulder-deep in packing boxes, unpacking things into their proper nook at our new space. I can't wait to share my new kitchen with you. It's not the gleaming counters and shiny gadgets I'm most excited about....it's actually the astounding amount of natural light that streams into the kitchen via huge, glass sliding doors! LOL, now you and I know only food bloggers will say something like that :-).
Have a great weekend, everyone! We'll catch up again whenever...wherever.
22 comments:
Happy unpacking today, Maya! Your salmon is gorgeous! I've made it before and had to beef up the spices this time. Love your addition of nectarines.
PS...the reason I popped over was to let you know I got my fun molds today! THANK YOU so much...I hope to try something with them soon. xoxo
I totally get what you're saying with the natural light - I'm always looking for some strange angle for that little bit of sunlight. Or how I have to quickly get that dinner out of the oven and get it photographed with the evening light :) congrats on your new 'light fixtures' ;)
Ooh, your nectarines look so juicy! Great substitution!
Lizzy, that's wonderful! I can't wait to see your cookie or polvoron creations, or maybe even make something savory formed with those molds?
Shaz, yes I get really upset too if I see the light outside fading and my dish is not ready to be photographed yet! Are we obsessed? LOL.
@yummychunklet, tks! I'm so glad to be doing FFWD again this week and can't wait to see what everyone did.
This is beautiful!
Absolutely lovely!
Thanks, Penny and Emily!
Love the nectarines. What a great combo for the salmon.
Best wishes on your move & congrats!!!!
That salmon is SO gorgeous!! Great job! :)
Congratulations on your move and lovely new kitchen!
I'm loving your change ups to Dorie's salmon recipe, yum- herbs and fruits, so many variations;-)
Good luck with the moving. I don't like packing, but enjoy unpacking. It's like opening presents. Excited for your new kitchen too.
Lovely salmon dish Maya... but no garlic? and it's French? hehe...
Enjoy your weekend.
Maya, I have to say, I like the nectarines better than tomatoes because it is sweet. Salmon is so delicious and I bet even so with all the herbs and lemon and Nectarines (yes!). Good luck on the move.
Love the addition of the nectarine! Your photos look gorgeous as does your wonderful dinner. Good luck with your unpacking! You're so right about natural light…I never gave it a thought till I started this blog!
Great idea. I had eyed the plums in the fridge, but stayed true to Dorie's recipe. Nice to get all these nice variations and as usual, I love your photos.
Nectarines sound really good. I like sweet with my salmon. I still need to do this recipe so thanks for this idea...I want to try the fish your way.
Maya your salmon dish is beautiful! I'd never thought of eating salmon wiht nectarines. Such a great idea and thanks for sharing it with us!
These photos are stunning, and spurring me to try the papillote dishes more often~ usually fish comes out sad looking out of these little packages, not so here!
It is a combination of great flavors: nectarine, lemon, and fresh basil and spring onion from garden! The salmon must taste heavenly!
Supreme bonus points for knocking this out even when in the midst of moving. And of course managing to deliver such amazing results with such gorgeous photos while doing so ! Good luck with the move - Nana and I are still recuperating just from packing for vacation :)
I'm impressed that you managed this in the midst of moving! The nectarines got my mouth watering. I want to try using them another time. Or, perhaps in a salsa on the side. Sorry this week's dish didn't work for you.
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