Cooking fish “en papillote” (in parchment) is a quick and delicious way to whip up a gourmet-looking meal with minimal cleanup. That makes it perfect for date night, an elegant meal on those nights you forgot company was coming over or a Wednesday night surprise for the family.
Best of all, fish en papillote is easy to make. Here’s how:
1. Take a square of parchment paper about quadruple the size of your fish, and fold it in half. Cut the parchment into a fat heart shape.
2. Unfold, and spread one half of the heart with cooking oil, then lay the fish and other ingredients on top of that, and fold the other half over at the crease created from folding.
3. Starting at the tip of the heart, begin folding in the edge on an angle about an inch at a time, going all the way around so it’s all sealed. You’re trying to get a fairly airtight seal, but steam will probably escape, and it’s possible the parchment will brown a bit in the oven. That’s all right.
4. Place the wrapped fish on a baking pan just in case any juices leak out, and bake as instructed.
But first, you’ll need some fab recipes.
Each of these recipes will build one single-serving packet consisting of a 6-ounce fillet. Put the ingredients in the packet in the order in which they appear. Remove all the seeds from any citrus fruit before adding. Cooking times are approximate and depend on the thickness of the fillet.
Always start with carefully deboned fresh (not frozen) fish unless the recipe says otherwise.
More fish recipes
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Grilled tilapia tacos with mango and tangy slaw in just 20 minutes
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