White Fish en Papillote

Steve and I try to have fish once a week and doing a White Fish en Papillote is one of my favorite ways to bake fish. It stays moist and flaky and provides a lot of forgiveness if you are worried about overcooking it. Our recipe this week is pretty basic but can easily be modified based on what you like, the herbs you have around or the theme you are working from.

We baked Tilapia this week, mainly because that’s what looked good when we picked out our fish. You can use just about any white fish though depending on what’s available. We’ve done this with Cod, Sole and Haddock. Whatever you choose though, it needs to be fresh. Frozen and thawed will have too much moisture inside the little packets.

En Papillote means in paper or in package. It looks fancy but is really easy to do. You just need a piece of parchment paper and you can just scrunch it up along the edges to seal it in. I have seen all kinds of fancy ways to do this, including cutting the paper into a heart shape and rolling from the edge. I just find the scrunching part fun, and it works, no need to get too fancy!

Cooking a white fish en papillote will quickly become an easy go-to and versatile recipe. We’d love to hear about how you modified what we did to suit your tastes. Did you add capers and shallots? Or olives and cherry tomatoes? Are you looking at a low fat option and substituted coconut oil for butter? Let us know what you did and tag us with #maplebaconsomething or @maplebaconsomething on instagram.

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White Fish en Papillote

Flaky white fish baked in parchment paper and topped with lemon. Olive oil and butter make the fish moist and rich.

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Servings :4

Prep Time10 minutes mins

Cook Time12 minutes mins

Ingredients

• 4 4-6oz White Fish Fillets (Tilapia, Cod, Haddok
• 1 Lemon cut into slices
• 1 Tbsp Butter divided into four slices
• Salt & Pepper to taste
• Olive Oil
• Dill or Fennel Fronds optional

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 400°F
• Cut 4 pieces of parchment paper, approximately 12 inch square (or 12 inches by the length of your roll)
• Fold each piece of parchment in half and take a little olive oil and spread it where you plan to lay each piece of fish (this will prevent the fish from sticking)
• Place one piece of fish per piece of parchment paper next to the fold in the center
• Season with salt and pepper, then top with herbs (if using), 2 lemon slices and a pat of butter
• Fold the paper over and starting from one side near the fold roll the edges of the paper in to seal the fish and form a packet, it should look like a half moon
• Place the packets on a baking tray with some space between and put in the oven
• Bake for 10 – 12 minutes depending on the thickness of the fish
• You can serve directly by putting the packet on the plate or use a spatula to remove the fish and plate

Notes

This recipe can easily be modified by adding shallots, other fresh herbs, cherry tomatoes, capers or olives.   If I have a bottle of wine open, I will sometimes add a tsp of wine to each packet.   If you’re looking for a healthier option you can use olive oil or coconut oil and omit the butter. 

Tried this recipe?Mention @MapleBaconSomething or tag #maplebaconsomething!