Salmon parcels on garlicky white beans with capers, olives, lemon and dill

Name: Salmon parcels on garlicky white beans with capers, olives, lemon and dill
Prep time: 20 min
Total time: 40 min
Yield: 2 servings
Cuisine: Israeli and Mediterranean
Ingredients: 360 g Skin-on boneless salmon fillets (2 skin-on fillet portions, 180 g each, pin-boned, 2–2.5 cm thick, bought the same day; the skin stays in the parcel); 360 g Tinned cannellini beans (400 g tin) (1½ × 400 g tins, each giving 240 g drained; the remainder keeps covered in the fridge for 3 days); 250 g Cherry tomatoes (about 15 tomatoes, halved); 40 g Black olives in brine (Kalamata, Gaeta or Israeli) (about a dozen pitted Kalamata olives, halved); 15 g Capers (1½ tbsp, rinsed and drained); 10 g Garlic (2 cloves, thinly sliced); 0.5 g Chilli flakes (peperoncino) (1 generous pinch, for gentle warmth rather than fierce heat); 30 g Extra virgin olive oil (3 tbsp: 20 g in the pan, 10 g added uncooked when the parcels are opened); 5 g Fine salt (1 tsp: 3 g in the beans, 2 g on the fish); 0.5 g Ground black pepper (¼ tsp); 120 g Lemon (1 lemon: the finely grated zest of half (about 2 g) and 40 g juice; discard the peel and pips); 12 g Fresh dill (¼ of a 50 g bunch, about 10 sprigs, washed and dried); 80 g Bread (baguette or country loaf) (2 slices of fresh pareve bread, for mopping up the juices)

pareve fish main dish · Israeli and Mediterranean · 2/5 · easy · 40 min, including 20 hands-on

White beans cooked in olive oil with garlic and chilli, lightly mashed with a fork to bind them with cherry tomatoes, olives and capers. The salmon steams on top in a paper parcel, keeping its pearly centre, and is finished with lemon, dill and uncooked olive oil.

Ingredients for two

360 g	Skin-on boneless salmon fillets 2 skin-on fillet portions, 180 g each, pin-boned, 2–2.5 cm thick, bought the same day; the skin stays in the parcel
360 g	Tinned cannellini beans (400 g tin) 1½ × 400 g tins, each giving 240 g drained; the remainder keeps covered in the fridge for 3 days
250 g	Cherry tomatoes about 15 tomatoes, halved
40 g	Black olives in brine (Kalamata, Gaeta or Israeli) about a dozen pitted Kalamata olives, halved
15 g	Capers 1½ tbsp, rinsed and drained
10 g	Garlic 2 cloves, thinly sliced
0.5 g	Chilli flakes (peperoncino) 1 generous pinch, for gentle warmth rather than fierce heat
30 g	Extra virgin olive oil 3 tbsp: 20 g in the pan, 10 g added uncooked when the parcels are opened
5 g	Fine salt 1 tsp: 3 g in the beans, 2 g on the fish
0.5 g	Ground black pepper ¼ tsp
120 g	Lemon 1 lemon: the finely grated zest of half (about 2 g) and 40 g juice; discard the peel and pips
12 g	Fresh dill ¼ of a 50 g bunch, about 10 sprigs, washed and dried
80 g	Bread (baguette or country loaf) 2 slices of fresh pareve bread, for mopping up the juices

Method

Preheat the oven to 190°C fan, with a shelf in the centre. Pat the salmon dry with kitchen paper, salt both sides using 1 g per fillet and refrigerate while you continue, for at least 10 minutes. Rinse and drain the beans and capers. Halve the cherry tomatoes and olives, thinly slice the garlic and chop the dill. Finely grate the zest of half a lemon, then squeeze 40 g juice.
In a 28 cm frying pan, heat 20 g oil with the garlic and chilli over a medium heat for 2–3 minutes, stirring, until the garlic turns pale gold without browning. Add the beans, tomatoes, 3 g salt and the pepper and stir for 3 minutes: the tomatoes will start to soften and collapse. Roughly mash a quarter of the beans against the side with a fork to bind the mixture. Take off the heat and add the capers, olives, 20 g lemon juice and half the dill. Taste: it should be thoroughly seasoned, as the fish on top will not salt it.
Lay a 40 cm sheet of baking paper on the worktop and spoon half the hot mixture onto one half of the sheet, leaving a 5 cm border. Pat the fillets dry again and place one skin-side down on the beans. Fold the other half of the paper over, then seal the three open edges with small, tight, overlapping folds, pressing each with your finger, and twist the corners to finish: the parcel must be tightly sealed. Assemble the second parcel in the same way and slide both onto the oven tray.
Bake for 14 minutes. Push the thermometer probe through the paper into the centre of a fillet without opening the parcel. As soon as the centre reaches 47°C, ideally 47–50°C, take the tray out: resting will finish the cooking. Below 47°C, return to the oven for 2 minutes, no longer, then take out. Rest for 2 minutes with the parcels closed: residual heat will finish the cooking, leaving opaque edges and a pearly centre that is still slightly translucent when the flakes are parted with a fork.
Place each parcel in a shallow bowl and open with scissors, away from your face. Drizzle each portion with 10 g lemon juice and 5 g uncooked olive oil over both the fish and beans, then sprinkle with the zest and remaining dill. Serve with 40 g bread per person to mop up the juices. Lift the flesh with a fork, leaving the soft skin in the paper.

Variants and their steps remain below the recipe.

Fish-free

Skin-on boneless salmon fillets → Feta or Bulgarian white cheese, 16–24% fat (250 g block) 200 g (for two fish-free plates: 200 g from a 250 g block; for a mixed pair, 100 g; keep the rest in its brine)
add Dried oregano 0.5 g (1 pinch)

For a mixed pair, one plate with fish and one fish-free plate, use 1 × 180 g salmon fillet salted with 1 g salt, and 100 g feta in a 2 cm thick slice. In step 2, use only 2 g salt in the beans. In step 3, assemble the feta parcel first with half the hot bean mixture: lay the slice on the beans, drizzle with 5 g oil taken from the finishing oil, sprinkle with oregano and seal. Then stir 0.5 g salt (1 pinch) into the half of the mixture remaining in the pan and assemble the salmon parcel. Bake both together for 14 minutes; if the salmon needs another 2 minutes, take out the feta parcel and keep it closed.
For two fish-free plates, use only 1.5 g salt in the beans in step 2, as the feta will season the base while cooking. Put 100 g feta in each parcel with 5 g oil taken from the finishing oil and the oregano, and bake for 14 minutes: the feta should be hot all the way through, melting at the edges and yielding under a fork.
In step 5, finish the feta parcel like the salmon parcel, with lemon juice, zest and dill, but no extra oil: its 5 g share of the finishing oil went into the oven with it.

Greek-style baked feta on beans, feta psiti, is a classic in its own right: soft and melting, it salts and flavours the base. The fish dish is pareve; this variation is dairy. Fish and cheese are permitted together (D4), and no meat is served at this meal (D10). For a mixed pair, buy 1 × 180 g salmon fillet and 1 block of feta, not 2 salmon fillets. For those who prefer tofu, use 150 g firm tofu per person, cut into 1.5 cm slices, patted dry, salted with 1.5 g salt and rubbed with zest and paprika. Brown for 2 minutes on each side in 10 g oil before adding to the parcel.

Lighter version

How the taste changes:

The parcel juices are less oily, allowing the lemon, capers and garlic to stand out more. The beans stay meltingly tender, but leaving out the bread removes its soft crumb and its ability to soak up the juices.

Bread (baguette or country loaf) : removed
Extra virgin olive oil : 20 g

In step 2, cook the garlic in 15 g oil; in step 5, finish each plate with 2.5 g uncooked olive oil (½ tsp).

In step 5, serve the parcels without bread. Spoon all the juices over the beans and salmon and eat them with the beans using a spoon.

No bread and a third less oil: the beans remain the starchy part of the meal and the parcels are just as fragrant.

On your plate

Recipe

810 kcal · protein 55 g · carbs 49 g · fat 43 g

Quantities per person

180 g Skin-on boneless salmon fillets
180 g Tinned cannellini beans (400 g tin)
125 g Cherry tomatoes
20 g Black olives in brine (Kalamata, Gaeta or Israeli)
7.5 g Capers
5 g Garlic
0.25 g Chilli flakes (peperoncino)
15 g Extra virgin olive oil
2.5 g Fine salt
0.25 g Ground black pepper
60 g Lemon
6 g Fresh dill
40 g Bread (baguette or country loaf)

Fish-free version

732 kcal · protein 34 g · carbs 50 g · fat 42 g

Quantities per person

180 g Tinned cannellini beans (400 g tin)
125 g Cherry tomatoes
20 g Black olives in brine (Kalamata, Gaeta or Israeli)
7.5 g Capers
5 g Garlic
0.25 g Chilli flakes (peperoncino)
15 g Extra virgin olive oil
2.5 g Fine salt
0.25 g Ground black pepper
60 g Lemon
6 g Fresh dill
40 g Bread (baguette or country loaf)
100 g Feta or Bulgarian white cheese, 16–24% fat (250 g block)
0.25 g Dried oregano

Cooking tips

Assemble the parcels while the bean mixture is still hot: it starts the cooking and helps the fish cook evenly. For salmon bought that morning, a centre temperature of 50°C gives pearly flesh; for a more cooked result, stop at 55°C, as it dries out above this. Make a salad the next day with the remaining tinned beans, red onion, parsley, lemon and oil. In summer, replace the dill with basil. Difficulty 2: doneness is checked with a probe thermometer rather than judged by eye.

Equipment : oven and rimmed oven tray, 28 cm frying pan, 2 × 40 cm sheets of baking paper, colander, knife and chopping board, fine grater and citrus juicer, scissors, probe thermometer

A house recipe inspired by Tuscan fagioli all'aglio, beans with garlic and oil, and Mediterranean cooking in paper parcels.

Salmon parcels on garlicky white beans with capers, olives, lemon and dill

Method

Timer

On your plate

Recipe

Fish-free version

Cooking tips

Explore this cuisine

Starters to serve with this dish

Three recipes to try next

Comments and reviews

Share your experience