Coho Salmon en Papillote with vegetables, cranberries, and Ricotta Salata (That's "in Parchment" if you don't speak French)

Yeah, I know, It's been a while since I blogged.  I have been busy, and the few major dishes I did try out, I forgot to photograph, and how many blogs do we need about Boef Bourginion and Osso Bucco anyway?  Back to it this week though, and since this Thursday is Thanksgiving and the start of all the rich foods of the holidays, I though I'd kick the week off with some nice fish.  So off to Whole Foods, where I was faced with their new color coded system telling me which fish were in danger of overfishing and which fish are sustainable.  I ended up with Coho Salmon from Alaska, which the sign assured me was being fished responsibly.   I last did this with Lemon Sole, which the new system told me was in trouble.

One technique I have picked up recently for cooking fish is to cook it in parchment, or "en papillote" as it were.  The fish steams inside the paper, and unlike aluminum foil, you can serve it in the paper and the paper does not add off flavors with any acidic ingredients.  for this recipe, which I believe is original, you will need the following, in whatever quantities you desire, in addition to Coho Salmon Filets, around 1/3 to 1/2 pound each.  Preheat your oven to 400 degrees when you start assembling.

-New potatoes, sliced very thin 

-Carrots, julienned

-Fresh Asparagus spears, with the tough ends broken off.  (The best way to do this is to hold the asparagus spear about at the middle, and bend the thick end until it breaks off.  It will break where it should)

-Fresh Leeks, cut as shown.  Peel the outside layer, cut off the end, split the leek from where it turns white to the end, and split again to make 4 quarters.  Rinse the split leek well before slicing into 1/4 to 1/2 inch slices. Shown is one large leek.

Italian Flat Leaf Parsley, roughly chopped

-Fresh rosemary and thyme

-Fresh, uncooked cranberries

You will also need 

-about 1/4 cup white wine of choice per filet

-about two Tbsp crumbled Ricotta Salata per filet

-Extra virgin olive oil

-kosher salt and fresh ground pepper

Start by cutting a large paper heart out of the baking parchment.  C'mon, you remember this from elementary school, right?  Drizzle or brush about 1 tbsp of the olive oil on one half of the heart.

Arrange a mound of the potato slices as a base.

Place the filet on the potatoes and season as desired with the salt and pepper.

Arrange your vegetables in the order you desire.  Here I started with the carrots, added the parsley and asparagus...

then added the leeks, cranberries and herbs, followed by a nice sprinkle of white wine, about a 1/4 cup (I used some cheap Prosecco from Trader Joe's. I love a good a 5 dollar "champagne"!!).

Now it's ready to fold.  Starting at the top of the heart, roll the bottom over the top, and work your way around, being very careful to press hard and twist where you can to make sure it stays shut.  At the bottom, twist the end as shown.

Place in your 400 degree oven and bake for 20 minutes plus or minus a minute.  Remove and place on serving plate...

Cut the paper open in front of your dining guests and bask in the oohs and ahhs as the steam rises from the perfectly cooked fish and veggies.

Add 1 or two Tbsp of the crumbled ricotta salata (dried, salted ricotta) to the top and enjoy.  The sweetness of the wine and the ricotta salata, not to mention the carrots and leeks, counters the tartness of the cranberries and make this dish a winner!