Trout en Papillote (Fish Baked in Parchment)
Dinner in 20, no joke. Fish en Papillote is a French technique of steaming seafood with aromatics in parchment paper. It’s incredibly versatile: you could easily swap my lemons, tomatoes, and garlic for scallions, ginger, and bok choy! It takes 5 minutes to prep and 12 minutes to bake. Cut it open at the table and puffs of steam will waft out! See how its made here.
Serves 2
Ingredients
2 trout filets, sliced in half widthwise
Kosher salt
Fresh-ground black pepper
Olive oil
2 minced garlic cloves
1 cup of cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
1 lemon, thinly sliced, seeds removed
2 sprigs of thyme and/or rosemary
Optional: 1 tbsp. of cooking white wine or rosé
Fresh bread for serving
Special Tools
2x 15” sheets of Parchment paper (not wax paper!)
Make it!
Pre-heat oven to 425F°.
Fold the parchment paper in half widthwise to create a seam in the center. Open it back up and lay your trout along the seam in the center, leaving several inches on each side (to later wrap up). Sprinkle with kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper. Rub the minced garlic into the fish and sprinkle the tomatoes and lemons all around. Drizzle a generous glug of olive oil, another generous pinch of salt and a few more grinds of pepper. Nestle the herbs into each corner. Optional: splash 1 tbsp. of white wine or rosé onto the fish.
Take the other edge of parchment and fold it over the trout to line up the corners. Starting from the corner of the folded seam, twist and roll the open seam to close the pouch. Continue rolling until you get to the other side of the folded edge. It should look like an empanada! Make sure to really twist the ends so that no steam can escape.
Place both packets on a baking sheet and bake on the center rack for 12-14 minutes, or until the packet is puffed! Remove and place the packet on your plate. Right as you sit down, cut the packet open with scissors and puffs of steam will waft out. Dip the crunchy bread into the juices and enjoy!
