Seriously Simple: Salmon in Parchment

This salmon in parchment is so simple; the total prep time was only 5 minutes! When I worked at a seafood restaurant in college (Berret's in Williamsburg, VA), the chef would feature a parchment presentation every night. The fish always came out ridiculously moist and succulent. This was my first attempt at cooking in parchment (or en papillote as the French would say), and I was not disappointed.  As an added bonus, the clean-up process is equally easy.  This recipe would work well for a dinner party, because you can prepare everything before your guests arrive and leave each parchment pouch in the refrigerator until you want to bake it.

For each serving, you will need about 2 feet of parchment paper.



Ingredients:
6 ounces of salmon
10 asparagus stems, ends trimmed
1 tablespoon of butter, cut into 4 pieces
2 teaspoons of fresh rosemary
2 teaspoons of minced garlic
1 tablespoon of lemon juice

Instructions:
1. Lay the parchment paper on a baking sheet and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Place the salmon in the middle of the parchment. Arrange the asparagus and butter on top.
3. Sprinkle the rosemary, garlic, and lemon juice over the fish.
4. Fold the parchment paper, and roll the ends up to create a pouch. It should look something like this:

5. Bake in the oven for 18 minutes and then enjoy by cutting into the parchment.