Fish and Vegetables En Papillote

Are you surprised that I have another en papillote recipe for you? I wasn’t kidding when I said that I’ve been captivated with this cooking method this month. Spending half an hour in the kitchen to have such an elegant, healthy and beautiful creation is perfect these days. Healthy, easy and tasty are my prerequisites for a perfect meal.

As the fish and vegetables steam together in their paper shell, all the flavors get really concentrated and the fish stays moist and juicy. It’s also awesome to have both the fish and the vegetables cook at the same time. I love the generous portion of vegetables; it is enough food to make this meal complete. Of course, you can serve it along side rice or couscous, but they are really easy to make too, and you can do that while the fish is in the oven.

A fun way to serve this dinner is to place the parchment packet on each dinner plate and have your family or guests open their packets themselves. Not only is it bold and entertaining, but as they open the packets, they will get a really good waft of incredible aroma, and that will boost their appetite even more. 

Ingredients:

4 (6 oz, each) boneless and skinless fish fillets (salmon, cod, swai, tilapia, haddock, etc.)

1 small onion or 2 shallots, thinly sliced

1 small zucchini (6 oz), cut into thin matchsticks

1-2 carrots, cut into thin matchsticks

1/2 – 1 celery stalk, cut into thin matchsticks

1 small or 1/2 of a large bell pepper, cut into thin matchsticks

4 Tablespoons dry white wine or lemon juice

1-2 teaspoons lemon zest

4 Tablespoons olive oil, divided

1 Tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped

salt, ground black pepper

Garlic Herb Butter: (optional)

4 Tablespoons butter, softened

1 garlic clove, minced

1/2 teaspoon lemon zest

1-2 teaspoons fresh minced parsley

1-2 teaspoons fresh minced dill

1/8 teaspoon salt, ground black pepper

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.

Prepare all the vegetables by cutting them into thin matchsticks.

It’s very important to cut the vegetables very thinly. I used a mandoline to slice all the vegetables and then my knife to cut the slices into matchsticks. You can use a knife if you don’t have a mandoline, it will just take a little bit longer. If the vegetables are too large, they will not get a chance to cook through in the short amount of time that it takes the fish to cook. If you’d rather cut the vegetables larger, you will need to sauté them in a skillet first, to give the vegetables a head start in cooking, before placing the vegetables in the packets.

Mix all the vegetables together in a large bowl and season them with salt and pepper. Season all of the fish fillets with salt and pepper on both sides. Add the lemon zest, lemon juice of half the lemon, olive oil and parsley.

In a small bowl, mix together the softened butter, garlic, lemon zest, fresh herbs, salt and pepper. (I was only making 2 fish fillets, so I made half of the Garlic Herb Butter.)

Prepare 4 pieces of parchment paper, each 15×24 inches. Fold the parchment in half, just so it’s easier for you to see where to place the food.

Place 1/4 of the vegetables on one half of each parchment paper.

Place one fish fillet on top of the vegetables.

As you can see, you can use any firm, thick fish fillets for this recipe. Salmon, cod, swai, tilapia, haddock, etc., it will all work here, as long as each fillet is about 6 oz. Don’t use fish that is thin, since it will overcook very quickly.

I was only making this for my husband and myself, so I made only 2 packets and sautéed the rest of the veggies in a skillet for another meal. Ever since I got pregnant, salmon is too strong flavored for me to enjoy, even though normally it’s one of my favorite fish, so I made my husband a packet with salmon and myself a packet with swai. Isn’t it great how versatile this recipe is?

Pour 1 Tablespoon of white wine or lemon juice over the fish and the vegetables.

Spread 1/4 of the Garlic Herb Butter on top of the fish fillets.

Fold the other half of the parchment over the fish and vegetables. Starting at one end, fold the parchment paper into creases, and working your way around, keep folding the parchment paper into pleats, slightly overlapping the creases to make sure you have a very tight seal.

Repeat with the rest of the ingredients, to create 4 packets.

Place the packets on a large rimmed baking sheet and bake for 15-18 minutes in the preheated oven.

I’ve recently discovered these Parchment Cooking Bags, which make this recipe so much easier. They are parchment bags that are assembled already, all you have to do is fill them with the ingredients, close the bags and bake.

To serve, cut open the packets and take out the fish and vegetables with a spatula, or have each person open the packet themselves at the table.

Fish and Vegetables En Papillote

 

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Prep time

25 mins

Cook time

15 mins

Total time

40 mins

 

Author: Olga's Flavor Factory

Recipe type: Entree

Serves: 4

Ingredients

• 4 (6 oz, each) boneless and skinless fish fillets (salmon, cod, swai, tilapia, haddock, etc.)
• 1 small onion or 2 shallots, thinly sliced
• 1 small zucchini (6 oz), cut into thin matchsticks
• 1-2 carrots, cut into thin matchsticks
• ½ - 1 celery stalk, cut into thin matchsticks
• 1 small or ½ of a large bell pepper, cut into thin matchsticks
• 4 Tablespoons dry white wine or lemon juice
• 1-2 teaspoons lemon zest
• 4 Tablespoons olive oil, divided
• 1 Tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped
• salt, ground black pepper

Garlic Herb Butter: (optional)

• 4 Tablespoons butter, softened
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• ½ teaspoon lemon zest
• 1-2 teaspoons fresh minced parsley
• 1-2 teaspoons fresh minced dill
• ⅛ teaspoon salt, ground black pepper

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Prepare all the vegetables by cutting them into thin matchsticks.
3. Mix all the vegetables together in a large bowl and season them with salt and pepper. Season all of the fish fillets with salt and pepper on both sides.
4. In a small bowl, mix together the softened butter, garlic, lemon zest, fresh herbs, salt and pepper.
5. Prepare 4 pieces of parchment paper, each 15x24 inches. Fold the parchment in half, just so it's easier for you to see where to place the food.
6. Place ¼ of the vegetables on one half of each parchment paper.
7. Place one fish fillet on top of the vegetables.
8. Pour 1 Tablespoon of white wine or lemon juice over the fish and the vegetables.
9. Spread ¼ of the Garlic Herb Butter on top of the fish fillets.
10. Fold the other half of the parchment over the fish and vegetables. Starting at one end, fold the parchment paper into creases, and working your way around, keep folding the parchment paper into pleats, slightly overlapping the creases to make sure you have a very tight seal.
11. Repeat with the rest of the ingredients, to create 4 packets.
12. Place the packets on a large rimmed baking sheet and bake for 15-20 minutes in the preheated oven.
13. To serve, cut open the packets and take out the fish and vegetables with a spatula, or have each person open the packet themselves at the table.

Notes

It's very important to cut the vegetables very thinly. I used a mandoline to slice all the vegetables and then my knife to cut the slices into matchsticks. You can use a knife if you don't have a mandoline, it will just take a little bit longer. If the vegetables are too large, they will not get a chance to cook through in the short amount of time that it takes the fish to cook. If you'd rather cut the vegetables larger, you will need to sauté them in a skillet first, to give the vegetables a head start in cooking, before placing the vegetables in the packets.
You can use any firm, thick fish fillets for this recipe. Salmon, cod, swai, tilapia, haddock, etc., it will all work here, as long as each fillet is about 6 oz. Don't use fish that is thin, since it will overcook very quickly.

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