Salmon fillet en papillote with julienne vegetables

I got a beautiful piece of wild salmon at the farmers' market yesterday along with my usual pile of vegetables. The ingredients were perfect for this Alton Brown recipe that I've made before and really like. It's really simple - all the ingredients are cooked "en papillote", which means cooked in a packet of parchment paper - and all you have to do is microwave the packets for 4 minutes, which reliably results in a perfectly cooked piece of fish. And with all the vegetables, the recipe gives you a complete (light) meal. I tweaked the recipe a bit based on the ingredients I had around - sugar snap peas instead of snow peaks, no leeks, etc. It's really pretty hard to mess this one up, so feel free to try some variations on the veggies or spices - just stick with crunchy vegetables.

Salmon fillet en papillote with julienne vegetables

Adapted from Alton Brown's recipe 

Serves 2 for a light meal

1/3 cup julienned fennel bulb

1/3 cup julienned leeks (white part only, make sure you wash the leeks well)

1/3 cup julienned carrots

1/3 cup julienned sugar snap peas or snow peas

3/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper

1/4 tsp ground coriander

2 (4 oz.) salmon fillets

1 orange, cut into wedges, with peel and pith removed

1 tbs dry vermouth 

Cut out two 15- by 24-inch pieces of parchment paper. Fold each one in half, crease, and unfold. Draw a large heart on the paper with the crease in the center of the heart. Cut out the heart from the paper. 

Split the vegetables in two piles, and place one pile on each piece of parchment paper to the side of the fold. Mix together the salt, pepper, and coriander and sprinkle each pile of veggies with 1/4 of the mixture. Lay a piece of salmon on top of each pile of veggies and sprinkle with the remaining spice mixture. Divide the orange wedges into two portions and lay them on top of the fish. Sprinkle each piece of fish with 1/2 tbs vermouth. 

Fold the parchment over the fish, and starting at the top of the heart shape, fold up the parchment in segments, overlapping folds as you move along. At the end tip of the heart, twist the paper several times to secure the packet tightly. If this is confusing to you, see this guide.

Place one packet on a plate and microwave on high for 4 minutes. Repeat with other packet. Open packets carefully and serve.