BAKED FISH IN PARCHMENT (en papillote)

                 

Here is a wonderful dish to prepare when you are having company or if you just want to treat your family!  It’s really easy and healthy!  En Papillote literally means “in parchment” or “in a paper bag”.  You can cut and fold your own bags (directions follow)  from parchment paper or buy ready-made ones from the grocery or specialty store.   I enjoy cooking with this method because the steam that forms as the fish and vegetables cook in the paper pouch, cooks the ingredients perfectly.  I hope you have fun using the fish and the vegetables that you most enjoy when you try this recipe.  As an alternative, just bake the fish in the parchment and prepare your vegetables any way you wish. 

Ingredients:

Olive oil

1  large wild salmon fillet –cut into 4 portions

4 small wild tilapia fillets

1 small sweet onion (sliced into slivers)

1 bunch asparagus (washed, with ends broken off and discarded)

3 small zucchini (peeled and sliced into thin strips, the same width as the asparagus)

1 medium lemon, washed and sliced into 8 slices

Fresh dill

Fresh parsley

8 pats of butter

Kosher salt and Black pepper to taste

1 medium tomato, washed and sliced into 8 slices

½ red bell pepper, sliced into thin strips

8 fresh brussel sprouts, washed and sliced thinly with a mandolin

Instructions:

*Preheat oven to 400 degrees

*Prepare parchment paper in the following way:

-Cut 8 pieces of parchment paper into 24- inch lengths.

-Fold each piece of parchment in half and lay them in a stack.

*Load each parchment bag in the following way.

-Place each folded piece of parchment in front of you with the fold on your left.

-Open the paper and begin placing the food on the right half of the bag. The food should be touching the center point of the fold—but on the right side.

-Brush 1 tablespoon of olive oil onto the parchment paper on the right side beginning at the fold.

*Stack the ingredients in the following way from the bottom up, being careful not to overload the bags.

-asparagus

-zucchini

-onion

-salmon or tilapia

-lemon

-dill and parsley

-salt and pepper

-butter

-tomato

-bell pepper

-shaved brussel sprouts

Sealing en papillote:

*After stacking all the ingredients, make sure the stack is in the center- at the fold of the right side of the parchment paper.

*Lay the left side of the paper over the right side with the food.

*At the right side of the fold, begin folding the edge in to create a small triangle, then another triangle on top of the last, and so forth- until the entire edge has been folded in on itself.  This creates a rounded edge.  If you find that you have excess paper, you may trim in a semi-circle to make the folding process easier.

*When you have folded around the entire exposed edge of the pouch, and have reached the other side, simply twist the final edge and fold under the pouch

Baking en papillote:

*Place each sealed pouch on a baking sheet and bake at 400 degrees until the fish and vegetables have properly cooked.   This takes about 20 minutes (or less depending on the thickness of the fish).  The parchment may puff up and become a bit brown on top during the baking process.

*When the cooking is complete you make place each pouch on  individual serving plates and allow each person to cut open the top of their pouch to eat the contents or you may open the pouches and serve the contents on a bed of rice or pasta.