Ginger-Almond Baked Salmon Packets with Green Beans

A few years ago, one of my clients asked me to make an easy baked salmon recipe with ground almonds, Dijon mustard, and nearly a pound of butter.

Though it wasn’t one of her recipes, as I folded the ingredients together I couldn’t quiet the resounding chorus of Ina Garten in my ear. How bad could that be?

The answer: not bad at all.

Though I didn’t get to eat the end result myself, I could tell that the slow-roasted salmon that had basted in its own buttery topping was beyond delicious. Everyone else seemed to be on board with the concept as well. I posted a picture on instagram before the fish went in the oven and by the time it came out I had a sea of kitty heart eye emojis in the comment field.

I never shy away from a pat of butter, but at the same time, I try to avoid weeknight seafood recipes where the butter measurements are labeled by the pound instead of the tablespoon. So I started thinking about ways I could take this low and slow baked salmon concept a bit healthier.

I love using coconut oil as a butter substitute (I like this brand). Since it’s solid at room temperature, you can whip it and get a similar texture to butter, which is great for smooshing under chicken skin among other things. So I decided this would be the body of my salmon topping and I wouldn’t have to feel bad about using a truck load to keep the fish super moist as it basted in the melted fat.

Coconut oil, salmon and almonds are great healthy fat sources—an essential nutrient in skin care, and therefore one of utmost importance this month as we start our new session of 4 Weeks to Wellness and I get my own detox on. I decided to give the rest of the ingredients an Asian spin to match the coconut oil. The topping also contains ginger, garlic, and fresh lemon zest.

To make this low FODMAP, you can easily omit the garlic and portion your green beans so there are only 15 or so per packet. You could also sub some beans for chopped bok choy, or another quick cooking veggie. 

The best part of this easy baked salmon recipe is that you can make the whole thing in a parchment packet (I use this brand). I’m a self-proclaimed lazy cook, so I love any excuse to not do dishes. You can serve the fish right in the paper and just toss it when you’re done. Assemble the fish packets and keep in the fridge until ready to bake. The whole thing comes together in 15 minutes. BOOM.

Feel free to do your best Marion Cotillard or Gerard Depardieu and present your packets by their French name–en papillote–for extra wow factor.

With health and hedonism,

Phoebe

p.s. Need a little leg up finding healthier habits this season? Go back to school with ME! The new session of 4 Weeks to Wellness begins soon. Don’t miss out on the early bird pricing!

Ginger-Almond Crusted Baked Salmon Packets

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This easy baked salmon recipe is oven-roasted in parchment paper for easy clean-up. The healthy crust is made from coconut oil, ground almonds, and ginger!

Prep Time 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes minutes

Total Time 25 minutes minutes

Servings 4

Author Phoebe Lapine

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup raw almonds
• 2 garlic cloves
• ½ inch fresh ginger peeled
• ¼ cup fresh herbs cilantro, mint, parsley, or chives
• 6 tablespoons extra virgin coconut oil at room temperature (not melted)
• 1 tablespoon gluten-free tamari or soy sauce
• Zest of 1 lemon
• 4 5-ounce sockeye or coho salmon fillets
• Sea salt

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.
• In a small food processor, pulse the almonds, garlic, ginger, and herbs until finely ground. Transfer to a medium mixing bowl and stir in the coconut oil, tamari, and lemon zest.
• Arrange 4 pieces of parchment paper, about the length of a baking sheet, on a clean work surface. Fold each piece of paper in half, length wide. Making each packet one at a time, arrange the salmon on half of the parchment paper. Season with salt and smear with ¼ of the almond crust. Fold the top half of the paper over the salmon and fold the edges, origami-style, until the packet is sealed. It will look kind of like an empanada. Don’t worry if it comes unraveled slightly. So long as you’ve made clean creases, no air can get out.
• Arrange the packets on 2 baking sheets and roast in the oven for 15 minutes for medium rare.
• Serve the salmon directly from the packets with lemon wedges on the side. Some simple roasted broccoli and quinoa fried rice would make an excellent healthy side.

Nutrition

Serving: 4g

If you make this, tag @phoebelapine and #feedmephoebe - I'd love to see it!