Salmon in a Spacesuit: The Asparagus Version…

Welcome to The Ripple’s food page. So you’re scratching your head wondering what to fix for dinner? Why not try “Salmon in a Spacesuit,” an astronautical recipe guaranteed to elevate your kitchen status to that of a Julia Childs or at least our modern Goddess of the Kitchen (and everything else domestic), Martha Stewart. And in due respect to Marvelous Martha, I’ll credit her with the following recipe; however, when her apron was turned, a bit of sleight of hand (by me) whisked away the baby spinach leaves and replaced them with fresh garden asparagus from the same patch featured in the previous post.

The “spacesuit” component, by the way, is Martha’s clever way of embellishing her recipe: the “out of this world” material is simply plain, old parchment paper and you don’t need the Apollo astronauts to stuff it full, either. Have your grocery list handy? Here’s what you’ll need:

2 Tbsp unsalted butter, room temp

1 Tbsp capers, rinsed and coarsely chopped

1 Tbsp coarsely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

1 medium garlic clove, finely chopped

1 large (or two small) russet potato(es), scrubbed and thinly sliced (I prefer new red potatoes myself)

2 medium shallots, thinly sliced (or substitute red onions)

6 or 7 stalks medium thickness asparagus sliced in half

2 six-ounce salmon fillets about 1 1/2” thick (Spice up your recipe with some “seasonal” excitement: Copper River salmon is now booking flights in first class on Alaska Airlines, Washington bound, ready to be suited up…at its usual astronomical prices, of course)

1 lemon, thinly sliced

2 twelve-by-seventeen-inch pieces parchment paper [Note: This recipe serves two, by the way…dare we think Martha was expecting a gentleman caller?  Salmon in a Spacesuit can easily be prepared for the lone diner or the number of guests at your family reunion, prepared ahead of time and refrigerated until mealtime. And unlike most of Stewart’s recipes, with this one you don’t have to hit the kitchen at dawn to prepare for a dinner at 8:00]

Preparation: Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place a baking sheet in oven to preheat. Make caper butter: combine, in a small bowl, butter, capers, parsley, and garlic. Mix well.

Fold each piece of parchment paper in half crosswise, then open, creating a crease. Lightly spray one side of the crease (the right, for this right-handed guy) with vegetable oil (prevents your meal from sticking to the “suit”). Divide potato slices between the two pieces of parchment paper, creating a bed of spuds on each. Season with salt and pepper.

Top each bed with one-quarter of the shallots (or onions). Lay half the sliced (to prevent movement) asparagus halves (six or seven) on top of the shallots.

Place salmon fillet on top of asparagus, divide remaining shallots or onions between the two packages. Top each piece of salmon with two or three slices of lemon and dot the top liberally with the caper butter. “Suit up” the meal by bringing together both ends of parchment paper, roll, fold and crease them until the fold rests gently on the contents. Fold and crease the short ends next. (Note: I like to seal the short ends with metal paper clips.)

Lay your spacesuits on the pre-heated baking sheet, load them into the “capsule” (400 degree oven), and after a twenty-five minute countdown, the spacesuits will be ready to orbit around the dinner table. An out of this world meal--without the zero gravity.

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