How To Cook Fish In Parchment Paper
Dill And Tomato Cod Steamed En Papillote. Produced by Sun Ngo. Photo by Christie Vuong. Food Styling by Ashley Denton. Prop styling by Christine Hanlon.
Cooking "en papillote" is a steam-cooking technique where food is cooked inside parchment paper (or foil) packets in the oven. This method is great for cooking delicate foods such as flaky fish and tender vegetables.
Steaming requires little or no added fat; a little liquid is added to the packet along with your fish and/or vegetables, which converts to steam in the hot oven and quickly cooks all the ingredients. Any flavourful liquid can be used: broth, lemon juice, butter, even wine!
Adding additional spices and fresh herbs will further infuse your fish with tantalizing aromas.
How to Cook Fish in Parchment Paper
- Use vegetables that will finish cooking at the same time as the fish. Therefore, cut slower-cooking vegetables into smaller pieces than quicker-cooking ones.
- Avoid adding too much liquid. You want to steam your fish, not drown it.
- If using an acidic liquid (such as lemon juice or vinegar) in your recipe, always opt to use parchment paper because the acid may react with aluminum foil. And, never substitute waxed paper for parchment!
- Make sure your packets are tightly sealed to prevent any steam from escaping during cooking.
I love using this method to steam fish because all the ingredients get added to the parchment packets, which means no fussing around with pots and pans. It's quick enough to throw together for a weeknight dinner and — when served in its parchment packet — pretty enough to serve to guests. And best of all? Clean-up is a snap!
Try some of our tasty fish "en papillote" recipes:
Dill And Tomato Cod Steamed En Papillote
Once you’ve mastered the folding technique, it’s a shockingly easy way to put a quick dinner together—and opening the puffed-up envelopes tableside to release their steam before serving is a neat trick if you’re entertaining. Get our dill and tomato cod steamed en papillote recipe.
Cod And Caper Parcels With Roasted Cauliflower Salad
Zesty cod and sweet roasted grapes with golden cauliflower give this weeknight meal an elegant flourish. Get the cod and caper parcels with roasted cauliflower salad recipe.
Trout Provençale En Papillote
What could be easier and more delicious than trout, zucchini and tomatoes in a parchment packet? Get trout Provençale en papillote recipe.
Ratatouille Tilapia En Papillote
A healthy and colourful dish of tilapia, zucchini, peppers and tomatoes baked with whole wheat couscous in individual parchment packets. Get the ratatouille tilapia en papillote recipe.
Parchment-Baked Gremolata Fish
Gremolata is a zesty condiment that adds fresh flavour. For this recipe with tilapia or haddock, we use lemon zest, dill, shallots and capers. Prep tip: If using frozen fish, defrost slightly under cold running water so they separate easily, then cook from frozen. Get the parchment-baked tilapia recipe.
Want more ideas for fish? Check out these five easy weeknight recipes.
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