Orange Salmon en Papilotte

This is a quick meal to prepare and cook, making it perfect for a weeknight meal. However, the presentation is impressive enough for a dinner party. If you do not have parchment, you can use foil instead. If you plan to make this during the week, the leeks, snow peas, and asparagus can be cleaned and cut in advance to speed up the preparation even more. The orange flavor of this dish is very mild--just the perfect amount for me. Next time I might add a shake of crushed red pepper to spice it up a bit. Now, on the topic of whether snow peas are paleo, they are acceptable by the Whole 9 and I've also seen them in recipes on Robb Wolf's site...so they're okay by me. They are definitely on our "occasional" list--we have them maybe two or three times a year. But they are one of the very few vegetables that my daughter will eat, so we give them to the kids more often. My understanding is that if you can eat the pod as well as the inside, it's acceptable. Enjoy!


Adapted from doortodoororganics.com.


Serves 4.

Ingredients
1 cup sugar snap peas
2 oranges
4 6-ounce salmon fillets
16 stalks asparagus, tough ends removed, cut in half crosswise
1 leek, white and green parts only, sliced in to rings and rinsed well
4 pieces 15 inch x 15 inch parchment paper
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
dried thyme
2 Tbsp olive oil
4 Tbsp balsamic vinegar

Preparation

Top oranges with salmon, then
sprinkle with salt, pepper, and thyme.

Seal packets by folding the
center and then rolling in the sides.

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Fold each piece of parchment in half, then re-open.
3. Slice orange very thin. Divide orange slices evenly among parchment, making a bed in the center, near the crease.
4. Top each bed of oranges with a salmon fillet, then season with salt, pepper, and thyme.
5. Divide leeks, sugar snap peas, and asparagus evenly over salmon.
6. Drizzle with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. I like a lot of vinegar on mine, but you can drizzle according to your taste.
7. Fold paper into a pouch that is as airtight as possible. The salmon and veggies will steam in the pouch while absorbing a delicate orange flavor. 
8. Place pouches on a baking sheet and bake for 12-15 minutes depending on the thickness of the salmon.
9. To serve, place one packet on each plate and let your diners carefully reveal their delicious meal.