While the actual 2016 Summer Olympics are going down in Rio, Epi's putting our own twist on the Games: the Kitchen Olympics. In nine Olympian tasks over the course of three weeks, we're challenging readers to master a series of culinary essentials, ranging from super-simple to downright tricky. In Week 1 we covered some basics: brown butter, caramelized onions, and chocolate ganache. For the second week, we're ratcheting up the difficulty with fish en papillote, omelets, and homemade fresh ricotta.
There are plenty of ways to prepare fish, but few are as brilliant as the technique en papillote—French for "in parchment"—where fish is baked in the oven inside a tightly sealed parchment pouch. It's foolproof. It locks in flavor as the fish cooks in its own juices, as well as whatever you've added. It prevents—nay, forbids—fish from drying out. And it's a heck of a lot healthier than deep-frying. All it takes is a little nimble fingerwork, a tightly sealed parchment pouch—and one trick that you may remember from kindergarten.
- How to work a piece of parchment like a pro
- How to layer seasonings onto a piece of fish, or any piece of lean protein, for that matter—this works with chicken too
- How to bake fish until it's perfectly cooked
Cut a 12-by16-inch piece of parchment paper for each piece of fish you're cooking and fold it in half. Using scissors, cut the folded paper into half of a heart, then unfold. Brush the paper lightly with oil or melted butter.
Place your fish to one side of the creased line down the middle of the heart. Add whatever flavoring you want, thinking of how the the ingredients will balance one another out: A drizzle of olive oil, for instance, and a splash of vinegar, or a pat of butter and a squeeze of lemon. Then add aromatics: fresh herbs, thinly sliced onions, diced olives or a smashed clove of garlic. We like to pair the fish with fresh tomatoes and Kalamata olives.
Fold the other half of the heart over the fish. Starting at the pointy end—the bottom of the heart—fold the edge of the parchment paper in small, overlapping triangles. This helps create a tight seal, making sure that the fish will cook in its own juices and not dry out or lose flavor.
Brush the top of each packet with oil or melted butter to turn it translucent, making for a pretty presentation on the table.
Transfer the fish packets to a baking sheet and bake at 450F. It's tough to test doneness with fish cooked this way, since you don't want to pull apart the packet until the fish is definitely done. Instead, bake until parchment packet puffs, 8-10 minutes, or slightly longer for fish fillets thicker than 1/2 inch.
And that's it! Just transfer each packet to a dinner plate, cut a small opening in the paper with a paring knife, and let each eater pull apart the packet and devour the contents. You'll barely even need to wash the plates.
