While I did receive my kilo of Italian Pernigotti cocoa this week from ChefShop.com, the package of which I write today is a culinary preparation.  Salmone al Cartoccio.  According to my Italian-English dictionary, ‘cartoccio‘ means ‘paper bag’ or, in a culinary usage, ‘aluminum foil.’  I venture to guess that when recipes were created ‘al cartoccio‘ for the first time, aluminum foil was not an option and paper was.

So I will be making the recipe using parchment paper, although it is equally as good with aluminum foil.  The only downside to the foil is that it does NOT make for an elegant presentation at the table.  There is something tactile and romantic about opening a paper package in front of you, whether is is a book to be read, a necklace to be worn or a meal to be shared.  It is fun to be surprised at what you see, smell and taste.  The plus side for aluminum foil is the “do ahead” factor.

There are two very common ways in which Italians serve food ‘al cartoccio‘ – pasta and fish. For the former, the pasta is pre-cooked, sauced and then wrapped in parchment, baked and served at the table. Fish, on the other hand, is wrapped up raw – with its flavorings and some liquid – then baked and served. Fish benefits significantly from this method of cooking, emerging from its sealed cloak very moist and tender, and infused beautifully with flavor.

I originally came across this recipe online – an Italian cooking site that no longer exists. A simple recipe to start, I have simplified it yet further to make one of the easiest and simultaneously most elegant dishes you can serve – even on a weeknight!

A couple of notes… If you use Pacific wild salmon, the cooking time should be 12 minutes or less. Being more lean, it dries out much faster than Atlantic salmon.

Today, as I prepared this for the post, I was unable to find thin-skinned oranges due to the severe weather across the country this past winter. I used standard – but juicy – navel oranges and made sure they were sliced very thinly. It worked just fine.

Also, while we are speaking of the oranges, many people choose to leave the oranges on their plates or in the parchment. For me, that is a mistake. If you slice them thinly enough, they soften beautifully and become a sort of marmalade under the salmon. A small piece of orange with each bite of salmon makes for a great flavor combination, especially with the almonds and cumin on top.

Mark and I always refer to this as ‘Sicilian salmon,’ not because it was called that in its original form but because the combination of ingredients and flavors simply says ‘Sicily’ to us both. When we make this for ourselves, we will often use aluminum foil because the clean up is easy. But serving it in parchment makes it very special.

Buon appetito!


– David