One of my favorite cooking methods is en papillote..."in paper". It is a cooking method that is: Easy to prepare, little clean-up, quick, healthy, can be prepped in advance for dinner parties, etc., and is a cooking method compatible with camping if you incorporate the use of a dutch oven, Coleman oven or similar.
So that's my segue to what I made for dinner tonight! En papillote is ingredient versatile only limited by your imagination!
Ingredients for tonights en papillote:
* Local petrale sole fillets (one fillet per packet, cut into 3-4" pieces)
* Gulf prawns (two large, shelled, deveined and sliced thin lengthwise)
* Julienne of raw veggies including orange bell pepper, carrot, baby bok choy, fresh shiitake mushrooms and fresh grated ginger round out the filler.
* 2-3 tablespoons finely chopped shallot (or sliced scallion)
* Toasted sesame oil, tamari/soy sauce, fresh meyer lemon juice and S&P
Start with a large piece of parchment paper. Here's a YouTube tutorial for those unfamiliar with the simple paper preparation: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HzwjVoKDZj4
Combine the julienned vegetables, a couple tablespoons fresh lemon juice, toasted sesame oil, fresh ginger and soy sauce in a bowl; toss thoroughly to combine. Additions of fresh parsley, dill, cilantro, jalapeno, habanero...you get the idea...are fantastic additions.
Place the fish pieces down on the paper, in shingle fashion, followed by a little s&p; then the sliced raw shrimp atop the fish. Mound the veggie salad atop the fish and shrimp then fold the parchment and seal by folding the outside edges (per video).
Place the parchment packets on a sheet pan and bake for 12-minutes at 450*F. The packets basically, if sealed properly, perform as mini-pressure cookers. Towards the end of the bake the parchment will be puffed up and starting to turn golden brown. All the ingredients go into the packets raw but will be cooked to perfection in no more than 12-minutes (adjust for elevation...).
En papillote also works great for chicken, beef, pork, tofu, seitan, etc., and any combination of vegetables. The key to prepping is to slice the ingredients thin enough so that they cook in 10-12 minutes. And avoid juicy veggies/fruits like tomatoes unless you remove most of the moisture that would otherwise overwhelm the packets.
And be sure, as you can see, to have crusty french/italian bread for mopping up every last precious drop of the leftover juices!
So that's my segue to what I made for dinner tonight! En papillote is ingredient versatile only limited by your imagination!
Ingredients for tonights en papillote:
* Local petrale sole fillets (one fillet per packet, cut into 3-4" pieces)
* Gulf prawns (two large, shelled, deveined and sliced thin lengthwise)
* Julienne of raw veggies including orange bell pepper, carrot, baby bok choy, fresh shiitake mushrooms and fresh grated ginger round out the filler.
* 2-3 tablespoons finely chopped shallot (or sliced scallion)
* Toasted sesame oil, tamari/soy sauce, fresh meyer lemon juice and S&P
Start with a large piece of parchment paper. Here's a YouTube tutorial for those unfamiliar with the simple paper preparation: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HzwjVoKDZj4
Combine the julienned vegetables, a couple tablespoons fresh lemon juice, toasted sesame oil, fresh ginger and soy sauce in a bowl; toss thoroughly to combine. Additions of fresh parsley, dill, cilantro, jalapeno, habanero...you get the idea...are fantastic additions.
Place the fish pieces down on the paper, in shingle fashion, followed by a little s&p; then the sliced raw shrimp atop the fish. Mound the veggie salad atop the fish and shrimp then fold the parchment and seal by folding the outside edges (per video).
Place the parchment packets on a sheet pan and bake for 12-minutes at 450*F. The packets basically, if sealed properly, perform as mini-pressure cookers. Towards the end of the bake the parchment will be puffed up and starting to turn golden brown. All the ingredients go into the packets raw but will be cooked to perfection in no more than 12-minutes (adjust for elevation...).
En papillote also works great for chicken, beef, pork, tofu, seitan, etc., and any combination of vegetables. The key to prepping is to slice the ingredients thin enough so that they cook in 10-12 minutes. And avoid juicy veggies/fruits like tomatoes unless you remove most of the moisture that would otherwise overwhelm the packets.
And be sure, as you can see, to have crusty french/italian bread for mopping up every last precious drop of the leftover juices!
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