For me, salmon en papillote is the best way to prepare salmon fillets, and also the most light and easy! For the upcoming Christmas and New Year festivities, it’s truly a great idea to make because it’s simple, can be prepared in advance, and cooked at the last minute. With the air fryer, it’s done in no time… 
Of course, it can also be cooked in the traditional oven, the process is the same, but I think it might take a little longer in the oven… 
The air fryer makes it very tender for sure, we delighted ourselves at the table, and there’s also a sauce that… mmmm, it’s so good! Let’s prepare it!
Some sides for this dish:
- Difficulty: Very Easy
- Cost: Medium
- Preparation time: 5 Minutes
- Portions: 2
- Cooking methods: Air Frying
- Cuisine: Healthy
- Seasonality: All Seasons
Ingredients
- 10.6 oz fresh salmon (preferably single fillets of 5.3 oz each)
- 1 tsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 untreated lemon (juice and grated zest)
- to taste salt and pepper
- Points per serving = 8 WW points
Tools
- Air Fryer
Preparation
To preface, I did an initial test with just one piece of salmon, so in the photos, you will see only one, but you can put more pieces close together in the same packet, depending on the size of your air fryer!
First, grate a little bit of the lemon zest and set it aside to decorate the final dish. Prepare the salmon pieces by ensuring there are no remaining bones in the fillet. Brush the parchment paper with oil and place the salmon on it, then brush the pieces over and around. Squeeze a little lemon juice over the pieces, lightly salt, and cover the salmon with lemon slices. Seal the packet well so that the sauce that will form inside does not leak out during cooking.
Place the packet in the air fryer tray or in any other oven-safe container that fits in the fryer basket. Cook at 356°F for 15 minutes. Then open the packet, being careful not to burn yourself, and remove the lemon slices. Be careful not to spill the cooking liquid, which is very tasty to pour over the salmon!
We are ready to bring our salmon en papillote to the table! It gives off such a good lemon aroma… I served it on a bed of fresh arugula, pouring over the cooking sauce, garnished with grated lemon zest, a sprinkle of mixed peppercorns, and accompanied by fresh lemon wedges!
It’s truly a delightful and rich dish. Yes, salmon is a fatty fish, but it provides lots of Omega 3, so it can be eaten occasionally. This way, it remains very tender and will surely be on my holiday table!
I’ll leave the judgment of this recipe to you now and look forward to seeing your photos!
Bon appétit to everyone!
by Giovanna Buono
Notes
Another Christmas classic, being Neapolitan, is this Octopus Salad. It’s infinitely delicious, try it!
