Foil Packet Salmon with Ginger-Scallion Butter

There’s a little joke in our house: a kid will exclaim, “This dinner is so good. Too bad we’ll never have it again.” We don’t repeat recipes terribly often – not because we don’t like them, but because we feel that there are too many of interest to try and not enough days in a lifetime to try them.  However, after importing the photos for this dish, we were wiping the drool from our gaping jaws as we recalled the… uncalled for level of deliciousness that occurred at this particular dinnertime. We repeated it the following evening. Salmon (good salmon) is fantastic in and of itself and so we are rarely lured in by salmon recipes where a sauce or a glaze is involved because it just feels unnecessary. We did want to give this one a whirl because a foil packet meal with an Asian flare seemed intriguing, and it was worth the gamble.

This Foil Packet Salmon with Ginger-Scallion Butter simply gushes with bright piquancy: spinach, carrots and mushrooms compose the base of your foil packet, followed by an herb of your choice, salt, pepper, and a splash of white wine. Salmon filets rest atop the vegetables and each flavors the other as they roast, resulting in a succulent and tender foil packet. As if that isn’t enough, dollops of vibrant, green butter containing ginger, scallions and sesame oil slowly melt down each salmon filet. It’s absolute heaven.

Tip (unsponsored):  We suggest wild salmon, and have had great success with Costco’s fresh, skin-on salmon filet, usually sockeye (you will want to skim the skin off with a filet knife for this dish). We love Costco’s quality of fish/seafood. We have also been very happy with the salmon we’ve gotten from our local Asian market, so give that a try if you’ve got one. The prices are often quite good. You will want to slice the carrots and mushrooms very thinly on a mandolin or in a food processor so that they cook as quickly as the salmon does.

Have your kids help you layer ingredients down on the foil. As you prepare and enjoy this meal with those you love, teach them a few things about the ingredients:

• Spinach is high in vitamin K, which helps your bones stay healthy.
• Carrots are one of the best things to eat to prevent heart disease.
• Salmon contain a lot of marvelous nutrients, but are most well-known for their omega-3 fats, which are great for your brain and which your body can’t make on it’s own so you must supply it through the food you eat.

Since this meal has an Asian flare, let’s learn a few things about Taiwan (just to pick a random place):

• Many of the garbage trucks play music to encourage people to bring out their trash.
• Taiwan has one of the lowest fertility rates in the world.
• People love to ride bikes in Taiwan.

From: Foil Packet Fish

Foil Packet Salmon with Ginger-Scallion Butter

 

Print

Author: Food Network Kitchen

Difficulty: Easy

Serves: 4 servings

Ingredients

• Salmon, four 6-ounce skinless fillets (we highly recommend wild sockeye)
• 2 cups spinach
• 1 cup carrots, very thinly sliced
• 1 cup mushrooms, very thinly sliced
• 2 springs fresh thyme
• 2 splashes white wine
• Kosher salt, pepper
• For the Ginger-Scallion Butter:
• ½ stick softened butter
• 3 sliced scallions
• 2 teaspoons grated peeled ginger
• ½ teaspoon toasted sesame oil
• ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
• *You will need some heavy-duty tin foil.

Instructions

1. Make the Ginger-Scallion Butter:
2. Pulse the butter, 3 scallions, ginger, sesame oil, and salt in a mini food processor until smooth. Refrigerate until ready to use.
3. Lay out 2 large sheets of heavy-duty foil.
4. Mound 2 cup vegetables in the center of each, season with salt and pepper and top with a sprig of thyme.
5. Place the fish on top of the vegetables; season with salt and pepper and drizzle with olive oil.
6. Add a splash of white wine.
7. Bring the short ends of the foil together and fold twice to seal; fold in the sides to seal, leaving room for steam.
8. Grill or campfire method: Preheat a grill to medium high or light a campfire and put a cooking grate in place. Grill the foil packets until the fish is just cooked through, 12 minutes.
9. Let the packets sit 5 minutes, then carefully open and top with the ginger-scallion butter.
10. Oven method: Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Put the foil packets on a baking sheet; bake until the fish is just cooked through, about 12 minutes. Let the packets sit 5 minutes, then carefully open and top with the ginger-scallion butter.

3.5.3208