It's a funny thing when people say to me that they think
cooking fish is laborious and a pain. Many a friend of mine will turn their
nose up at cooking fish but to them I say "try this dish, it's simple,
healthy and tastes delicious"
Cooking en papillote basically refers to the parcel you
cook it in - this is a French dish and it's basically a parcel encasing the fish
and vegetables which then steam cook in the oven. Mmmmm so delicious. You can be adventurous
on what veg you want to use - celeriac and fennel as well as cherry tomatoes
work particularly well. You don't have to make my simple creme fraiche sauce,
often I will just use a bit of white wine which works just as well.
The best thing is that this dish takes very little prep
and is quick to cook - a fish supper couldn't be simpler but at the same time its a pretty fancy way of cooking so you could serve it at a dinner party to much fanfare and no one would ever know - you're welcome.
Fish en Papillote
2 fillets of halibut, or you can use any white fish plus
salmon is good too
1 potato very thinly sliced
1 carrot, thinly sliced batons
1 leek, thinly sliced
4 TBSP creme fraiche
4 TBSP dry white wine
zest half lemon
2 bay leaves
S&P
Mix the creme fraiche, wine and lemon zest in a small
bowl, season. take a piece of grease
proof paper and create 1 or two layers of the potato - I often add a couple of
bits of butter in between to help cooking. season. layer on the leek and
carrot, a bay leave and a spoonful of the sauce. place fish on top with another
spoonful of sauce and season again.
fold the grease proof paper loosely and
then tuck in the sides to create a parcel (see photos).
Cook at 200oC for
approx 25mins. when out of oven make a small cut in the top so that the steam
escapes and leave for a couple of minutes before serving. I just serve these in
the parcel as I like the rustic look but feel free to serve nicely on the
plate.
