For the lazy cook a parcel is the perfect cheat for supper—it’s as close to a ready meal as you can get. Yes, there’s a little bit of chopping and prepping to cover off—and some fiddly baking parchment folding to engage in—but that aside, it’s a ready meal. Chop, wrap, bake, serve. As easy as that.
Unwrapped: ginger salmon and vegetables
I’m pretty keen on baked parcels; and I’ve written about them before, in greater detail, so I’m really just indulging my desire to post the pictures. And, also to announce that I’m over my fish sauce phobia. Over it.
This time I added a tablespoon or so of fish sauce to the marinade, and a dash of lemon juice—it was much improved. I also kept a bit of the chilli, ginger, soy and honey sauce to soak the salmon in. Even better.
Chopped and prepped: vegetable bed with marinated salmon
And that was it. Done. Salmon wrapped and lightly seasoned (no need for salt, really, as the soy-based marinade imbues the meal with a saltiness) I placed both fillets in a gratin dish at 200C for about 15 minutes.
Simple supper
The other advantage of the parcel (a bit like a stir fry) is it’s a great way to disguise any maligned veg box goods; the boy is not keen on the savoy cabbage, but shredded and hidden by some rainbow chard and crunchy fennel it was easily disguised, and eagerly consumed.
Served: just add coriander
To borrow a phrase from Nigel Slater: it’s a simple supper, keenly eaten. If there was enough Wild Atlantic salmon in the sea, I’d be eating this everyday.
The parcel seems just my thing – easy, simple and nutritious. Like the idea of disgusing things – a useful tool when the fridge is overloaded with sell by dates.