cause i'm a fatty

Cooking with Parchment Paper

My first day back in Boulder was spent celebrating Bastille Day at the Brassiere Ten Ten off of Pearl St. in Boulder. I picked the hailbut en papillote [in parchment paper] with shitakes and carrots for the first time, and loved how delicate and tender the fish was. The portion was pretty small [I ended up getting a shrimp cocktail, mussels and bread] so I’ve been craving some papillote style fish, and decided to give it a go!

Cod was half the price of halibut at Whole Foods, so got we four 3 oz portions. This recipe is so simple, it’s integrity really rests on using fresh ingredients. 

Other Ingredients:

1/2 lb shiitake mushrooms, sliced thinly without stems
1 pepper sliced thinly, de-seeded [jalapeno, serrano, 1/2 a bell pepper]
1 garlic, crushed and chopped  
1/4 cup of sliced red onions
1 lemon
cilantro or green onions 
2 tbs soy sauce
1 tbs rice vinegar 
1 tsp sriracha  
evoo
salt
pepper
five spice powder [optional, but super tasty, gives the fish a little cinnamon sweetness]

parchment paper
1 egg
basting brush  

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Mix all of the cut vegetables, along with the scallions with 1-2 tbs squeezed lemon juice, salt, and pepper.  

Mix the soy sauce, rice vinegar, sriracha, and chopped cilantro together. 

Fold your parchment paper in half, which should be about a foot long for a piece of 6 oz fish [we [paired two portions together]. Place the vegetables in a small bed on one side of the paper. Liberally sprinkle salt, pepper, and five spice powder on both sides of the fish. Place the fish on top of the vegetables, drizzle a little bit of evoo and the soy sauce marinade and any extra herbs.  

I had to throw out two pieces of parchment paper because I couldn’t fold them correctly, so I found this handy youtube video: 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vTuUf-MO_T0

You want the parchment pocket you create to puff up in the oven and steam the fish and vegetables, locking in all of the juices and flavors. The egg wash trick really made sure the paper stayed sealed and didn’t come a part in the oven. 

Cook the fish, depending on how big they are for 15 minutes, or up to 20. 

But be careful, it’s like opening up a bag of fresh microwaved popcorn. The steam could hit you in the face if you’re standing over it, and it burned my fingers as I eagerly went to open it up. Use a pair of scissors and open the middle. I like to place the parchment pocket on a plate and eat right out of there. 

I love this meal because it’s simple to prepare, all of the mess is contained [so easy clean up], and there is just a sprinkle of oil. A 3 oz piece of cod has less than 100 calories and less than 1 gram of fat, which makes it the type of healthy you can do without sacrificing being satisfied.