Dinner en papillote

Tonight I made Haddock En Papillote, a stunningly simple dish that nevertheless has many minute details that must not be overlooked: my first attempt was a smooth but short step towards perfection of this French classic.

En Papillote, for those of you who’ve never touched on French language or cuisine, means simply “in parchment”. My dish consisted of a filet of haddock (previously frozen, unfortunately), topped with a few quartered baby red potatoes, some slivered carrots, trimmed green beans, chopped garlic, butter, and touches of lemon juice, white wine, salt, and pepper. All of this was placed in the middle of a large square of parchment paper (I’m told foil is easier and works better, but it’s just not as pretty), which I did my best to fold and seal around the ingredients. My folding job turned out somewhere between a burrito and a tootsie roll, but I got it sealed sufficiently. Then I threw it in a 375° oven for around 12 minutes.

Now for those minute details that must not be missed: Firstly, potatoes and vegetable do not cook as fast as haddock (or any filet of fish, for that matter). Although I had enough insight to parboil the potatoes before wrapping them up, I did not blanch the vegetables, which turned out rather crunchy. In fact, the potatoes should probably have been fully boiled ahead of time, as ten minutes is really not enough to affect their texture, only enough to heat them up. The same goes for the vegetables. The garlic, which added an amazing aromatic element to the dish and a flavor that lightly permeated the fish, was nonetheless also crunchy and altogether too strong when bitten into directly- either sautéing it or perhaps blanching it in milk ahead of time would easily fix this problem. The thought also occurred to me to brush the inside of the parchment with roasted garlic paste, rather than using whole garlic of any kind. The parchment must also be looked after properly, either brushed thoroughly with water or oil before putting it in the oven (by brushed thoroughly I mean practically soaked), or sprayed with water several times while it is cooking. Otherwise the parchment browns extensively, and turns very dry and brittle, even to the point that it crumbles into dust on top of your food (trust me, not a tasty topping. At all.) If this all sounds too complex to you, try the foil until you’ve gained some confidence.

All faults aside, cooking en papillote is much easier than the intimidating French name implies. It provides an excellent medium for bringing out the best flavors in simple, fresh ingredients, without having to use any complex seasonings (or any seasonings at all, for that matter). Since the ingredients are virtually steamed in their own juices, no sauce is needed, and if one were to eliminate the butter, it would provide an almost fat-free meal that is still incredibly rich in flavor.