COOKING IN PARCHMENT
Healthy, Easy, Minimal Clean Up, and DELICIOUS! In France, they call it "en papillote". In Italy, it’s "al cartoccio". I call it, cooking in parchment!
What is it?? A cooking technique where you wrap food, typically fish, chicken, and/or vegetables in parchment paper. Once wrapped, the "packet" is baked in the oven until the entire meal is moist, tender, and cooked to perfection.
The technique sounds fancy in other languages, but it's actually super simple. Even better? Easy clean-up!
Here's how to do it:
1. Fold a sheet of parchment paper in half.
2. Cut out the heart and open the paper, making a complete heart.
3. Arrange desired ingredients on one side of the heart, close to the crease in the middle, leaving a 1-inch border around the edges.
4. Pull up the un-topped side of the heart and fold it over so the edges meet the other side. Starting at the top of the heart, fold the two sides together by making several, small and tight folds, sealing the packet completely. Tuck the last fold under the packet to secure the folds.
5. Transfer the packet to a baking sheet and bake at 400 degrees until the meat is cooked through and the vegetables are crisp-tender, typically 15 for fish and 25.
I tend to use what I have on hand, but here are a few recipes as well!
Fish in Parchment With Citrus Reduction
Grouper Steamed in Parchment With Sour Orange Sauce
Ginger-Garlic Fish in Parchment
Salmon en Papillote With Papaya, Mango and Avocado Salad