Parchment Baked Salmon with Lemon and Basil/Dill

Josh gave me a food challenge a couple months ago and all he said was "find a recipe that uses parchment paper." I thought that was an odd challenge but the first thing that came to mind was fish! I got online and did a searched for a simple fish and parchment paper recipe. I found this one on the Whole Foods website and made it just as the recipe called for...with basil. It was good but I wanted to make it better. The next time I made it I swapped the basil for dill and I gotta say, I prefer it this way. So here it is. I'll let you decide whether to use basil or dill. 

Parchment Baked Salmon with Lemon and Basil/Dill

Ingredients

6 (6-ounce) salmon fillets

Salt and pepper to taste

6 (15-square inch) pieces parchment paper

1/4 cup chopped basil leaves or dill

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

2 lemons, thinly sliced

Kitchen twine

Method

Place a large baking sheet on bottom rack of oven. Preheat oven to 400°F.

Season salmon with salt and pepper. Cut two half inch slices into flesh of each piece of salmon; roll basil leaves (or dill) and stuff into slits in salmon. 

Place a salmon fillet in the center of each piece of parchment paper. Drizzle each fillet with 1 teaspoon of the oil, then place lemon slices on top. Gather sides of parchment up over salmon to form a pouch, leaving no openings, and tie tightly with kitchen twine. Place packages directly on hot baking sheet in oven and cook for 20 minutes. Transfer to plates and carefully open packages to release steam before serving.

Nutrition

Per serving (about 7oz/193g-wt.): 450 calories (220 from fat), 15g total fat, 2.5g saturated fat, 95mg cholesterol, 270mg sodium, 2g total carbohydrate (0g dietary fiber, 0g sugar), 34g protein

Thank you Whole Foods Market.