It is hard to find (no fillet) a whole fish in the U.S. Not having whole fish is frustrating for a cook, because from a fillet, it is hard to tell if the fish is fresh or not. If you have a whole fish, first you need to take a look the eyes. If the eyes are blurred, not good. The eyes should be bright. Also, you check the gill. Gill should be bloody red, not brown. When you touch the flesh, it should feel firm. And lastly, the smell. You should smell the ocean, not a fish. However, from a fillet, you can only check the smell and color of the flesh (if you have seen the fresh ones, you can tell the dull fish color).
Of course, filleting a fish is a lot of work. But! it is worthwhile to try at home. After a few tries, you will find the filleting is not that difficult.
En papillote is a cooking method for baking/steaming foods (usually fish and vegetables) in a parchment paper bag. Unlike most of other French cooking methods, which involve loads of butter and fat, en papillote is a very healthy cooking method, using steam instead. Also, I like this method a lot just because there are no splashes nor stains left on your stove to clean up after the cooking. The diner can enjoy the presentation of the food served in a puffed parchment pouch and the bursting of aroma when he/she opens the pouch.
Poisson en Papillote
A healthy French food!
(Yield: 4 servings / Cooking time: one hour)
Ingredients:
+ 4 fillets of fish*
+ 1 lemon
+ several strings of fresh thyme
+ 1/2 onion
+ 10-15 cherry tomatoes
+ 10-15 mushrooms
+ 8-10 snow peas
+ green and black olives (about 5 each)
+ 4 tsp of white wine
+ 1 beaten egg white
+ olive oil
+ salt and pepper
* In terms of flavor, I prefer red snapper. However, I just found out red snapper is not one of sustainable seafoods. If you want to use more sustainable fishes, you can always use either striped bass or halibut. If you want to know more about sustainable seafoods, please check the following links:
- NOAA FishWatch: www.nmfs.noaa.gov/fishwatch
- Monterey Bay Aquarium: www.montereybayaquarium.org/cr/seafoodwatch.aspx
Procedures:
1. Preheat oven to 420°F.
2. Marinate your fish with two table spoons of olive oil, thymes and zest of a half lemon. Place the marinated fish in a refrigerator until needed.
3. Prepare vegetable garnishes. Cut cherry tomatoes in half, mushrooms to half or quarter-size depending on the size, and peel the onions & cut into dices.
Before and after prep
4. Toss each of the vegetables from #3 with olive oil, a few strings of thymes, salt and pepper. Spread them in a baking sheet separately as shown in the picture and put in the pre-heated oven. I don't want to mix the vegetable at this step, because (1) each vegetable has different cooking time and (2) it is easier in steps later to distribute the vegetable garnishes into four portions evenly.
Mushroom should be roasted enough after about 15min. Take them out, and continue roasting the tomatoes and onions until they are roasted enough to have nice colors (about 10 more min).
Before and after the vegetable being roasted enough
5. Place fish at room temperature for about ten minutes, so that the fish is not icy cold when it goes into the oven. If the fish is too cold, it is not going to be cooked properly. Season your fish with salt and pepper.
6. Cut a parchment paper in a heart shape.
7. First, place the roasted vegetables (3-4 each), olives (1-2 each) and snow peas (3-4 each) as garnishes. Above the garnishes, place a seasoned fillet of fish. Top the fish with a string of thyme, one thin slice of lemon, and splash one tea spoon of white wine.
8. Brush the edges of parchment paper with beaten egg white. Fold the paper and seal the edges together as shown in the picture. Lightly brush oil the top of the pouch to make the pouch develop a nice brown color when the fish is cooked.
9. Place the pouches on a baking sheet, and pop in the pre-heated oven. The pouch should be puffed up in about ten minutes, and your fish is ready to serve. Place the pouch in a plate and let the diner open his/her own pouch to eat.
Enjoy~
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