Fish in a butterfly

by

What happens to old cooking trends after they die?

Case in point: we own a full-size French fish poacher.  It’s lurking in our basement like a giant carp resting on the bottom of a pond.  How it ended up there is no mystery.  It’s a beast, an unwieldy piece of steel, heavy as plate armor, a narrow oval the better part of a yard long, six inches deep and task-specific to the point of disdain.  If we want to poach a  swordfish the size of East Providence, we can winch the damn thing upstairs.  It has no other uses.  Unless you count its possible utility a planter.  Still, we hang on to it.  Our children will inherit it.

During the first flush of the culinary revolution led by Julia Child, James Beard and their contemporaries quite a few devices escaped their imprisonment in restaurant kitchens and found refuge with sympathetic home cooks (why do you think people today chop shallots with surgical steel instead of the steak knives you used to get at gas stations?).  If some of those early escapees couldn’t adapt to civilian life (fish poacher), so what?   We tested our limits, and we’re better for it.  We make pho now.  Who wants to go back to the days when Swiss fondue was exotic, if not daring, and fashionable parties were built around omelettes, for God’s sake?  (Rent the 1970 movie Diary of a Mad Housewife if you don’t believe me.)  If nothing else, we’ve become more educated cooks and diners.

Once in awhile a technique drops off the radar for no more reason than the fact that everyone everywhere seems to be doing it, and becoming aware they’re doing it.  That’s my theory about cooking seafood en papillote – baking it in parchment – a perfectly respectable  technique that became a menu cliché, probably because it’s so easy and effective.  Some people believe the trimmed parchment sheet used to fold a papillote resembles a young lycée student’s outline of a papillon,  a butterfly.  I think it resembles a young lycée student’s outline of a heart, but I must be in the minority.  In any event papillon becomes papillote, a butterfly-shaped package.

Cooking in parchment is both simple and easy, the antithesis of using a fish poacher.  You place a piece of seasoned seafood on your butterfly cut-out, throw in some cut vegetables, fresh herbs, and a bit of fat in the form of butter, olive oil or coconut milk.  Fold the butterfly in half, crimping the edges of the wings together, and then bake it.

Ten or fifteen minutes later everyone gets their own very cool package to open.  Lots of oohs and aahs and no roasting pans to clean.  You can even use parchment made from recycled paper like we did, or foil, although with foil you don’t get that wonderful crackly effect that you do with baked paper.  Edible origami.

Jody and I don’t consign anything to the dustbin of culinary history.  We just send it to the basement.  Everything was new once and you never know when an out-of-fashion technique or piece of superannuated kitchen equipment will put in a return appearance, revivified in its absence.  Plus, you need a whole-poached-fish period in your life to bulk up your culinary muscles.  And if ten-pound halibut become the thing to serve your friends this winter, you’ll know where to find me – in the basement.

Curried Cod Baked in Parchment

Serves 4

Ingredients:

  • 8 teaspoons unsalted butter or 4 teaspoons butter and 4 tablespoons coconut milk
  • 4 ounces cauliflower florettes
  • 2 tablespoons very thinly sliced garlic scapes or 4 tablespoons thinly sliced scallions
  • Salt and freshly ground pepper
  • 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice + more after the fish is done
  • 1 tablespoon chopped fresh mint
  • 4 pieces of cod, skinned and boned, approximately 4 ounces each, about 1 inch thick (or any other firm-fleshed fish, skinned and boned, such as halibut, bass, or snapper)
  • 1 teaspoon curry powder
  • 16  sugar snap pea pods, split, strings removed
  • 4 sprigs mint or a handful of chive blossoms for garnish (optional)

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 350°.
  2. Cut 4 sheets of parchment into hearts.  The width of each heart is about the  width of the roll of parchment.  Look at the photograph to get an idea of their size and orientation.  Crease them down the center like Valentines, then open them back up.  Brush the exposed surface of each heart with 1 teaspoon butter, leaving a 1-inch border untouched all the way around.
  3. Using a mandoline or a very sharp knife, cut the cauliflower into slices ⅛-inch thick.  Put the cauliflower into a bowl with the scapes or scallions, season with salt, pepper, a tablespoon of lime juice, and 1 teaspoon mint.  Toss well.
  4. Arrange the cauliflower over one side of each heart in a single layer, leaving the 1-inch border free.  Again, see the photo.  Don’t rinse the bowl.
  5. Put the cod into the cauliflower bowl, season all over with salt, pepper, curry powder and the remaining lime juice.  Toss gently to coat each piece with the seasonings. Set a piece of cod atop the cauliflower.  Sprinkle with mint, dot with the remaining butter (or sprinkle with coconut milk).  Put 4 sugar snap pea pods on top of each piece of fish.
  6. Fold the empty half of the heart over the cod and vegetables, securing the edges with a series of overlapping folds.  Start at the rounded end, working your way down to the point, twisting it into a tail.  Tuck the tail under the bundle.  We’ve left it up in the photograph so you can see it.
  7. Transfer the packages to a sheet pan.  Bake 10 minutes, or until the fish is done. Let rest 4 minutes.  To serve, cut a cross in the top of each package.  Peel back the paper and garnish with mint sprigs or chive blossoms.

Jody notes:

The last time I wrote a recipe for fish baked in parchment was 1997 so when Ken brought up the idea of fish en papillotte it was a total blast from the past.

I wanted to use stuff currently available at farmers’ markets.  Garlic scapes and sugar snap peas were expected, but the cauliflower was a surprise, as was the cod that a vendor was selling out of his truck in the parking lot at Allandale Farm.  Back home I landed on the idea of tying the peas and cauliflower together with curry, and I stuck to the French spirit of the technique by using butter.  (Feel free to add a little more butter to the recipe if you want to.)

Fish in parchment can be prepared ahead and refrigerated,  takes just 10 minutes to bake, and is tasty and healthy. . . leaving room for cheese or chocolate after dinner.  Nothing with the same wow factor is anything near as easy to make.

After testing the recipe using only butter, we had some extra ingredients and since Ken had lobbied for coconut milk, I humored him by trying it.  It was good, but missing something. Roxanne figured it out: “Don’t they put sugar in some Thai food?”  We added a sprinkle of sugar, then tasted it again.  She was right.

This particular recipe should get you started cooking in parchment.  The formula’s pretty simple: firm fish; vegetables; butter, coconut milk, or olive oil; fresh herbs; some sliced lemon if you like.  Remember to cut the vegetables thinly or they won’t by done by the time the fish finishes.  Let the bundles rest for 4-5 minutes before serving.

136 thoughts

  2. I’m off to the fish and farmers’ markets! Excellent directions and photographs make it seem possible. This recipe looks fantastic! Adrian and Joanna will be blown away… and then they’ll be adding parchment paper and coconut milk to their weekly shopping list! Who would have guessed????
    On another note—-do you guys have any use for my old pasta cutter which is stored in our basement? ;-)

    Reply

  5. We store the family chocolate in our fish poacher.

    Recipe, photos, and writing all score 10’s here for me. (And, I think you just hit upon the next “it” food moment with the use of coconut milk and fish in parchment.)

    Reply

  6. You’re right, this recipe WILL get me started cooking in parchment. I am a big fan of cod, and the asian-french fusion thing you’ve got going on here sings to me. Lovely photos as well, Ken is that your handy-work? Great stuff, keep it coming! – S

    Reply

  7. You made it all sound so easy (pictures SOOOOO helpful!), I think I could actually make this, thank you! What does it mean if one’s cooking gadgets are relegated to a small attic room, rather than the basement? Is there some hierarchy of afterlife for such items?

    Thanks to Heather too for suggesting a *brilliant* chocolate hording location for me (“family chocolate”? is there such a thing???)

    Reply

  9. There was a fish poacher from France
    which in times like these has no chance
    It’s use is pooh poohed
    By those gourmands of food
    Who sadly left it in the basement as waste

    Reply

  15. This looks sooo good! I’m inspired. your post reminded me of steaming fish in bamboo, and what a mess that is. Not exactly fish poacher territory, but a hassle never the less. Thank you for reminding me about Diary of a Mad Housewife & that wonderful omelet scene. Richard Benjamin has got to be the prize winning jerk for his brilliant portrayal of the all too familiar husband. Great post!

    Reply

    • Not sure, except that the baking bags I know about open at one end, which is fine for chicken with dry ingredients. Not so good for liquid ones, but if you can get everything inside give it a shot.

      Reply

  21. Now you have me wondering where the heck our fish poacher has gone (Not really). I love the idea of coconut milk as the fat for the parchment baked fish. Lovely photos also. What type of camera are you using? My pics always look bad.

    Reply

    • Canon 7D, but as I had to read a thousand times before it sunk it–it’s not the camera, it’s the photographer. Good photographers take great pics with modest cameras, and novice photographers take bad photos with expensive gear. A photography class or workshop in food photography where you can get feedback can be a big help (at least it was for me).
      Ken

      Reply

  22. How brilliant. I know what you mean about the poacher. Mind you the same can be said for slow cookers and rice cookers and egg poachers. Maybe they would make great planters for succulents. In aany event I love cooking in baking paper (which is what I assume parchment is). Great poast aand fabulous photoss.

    Reply

  28. Oh what I wouldn’t give to have a basement full of useless kitchen items. I seet clear of any shops that sell kitchen items for fear of filling my kitchen to avalanche capacity.

    This fish looks super great – and easy! I will have to try some parchment fish sometime soon…

    Reply

  30. I’m not a fan of fish, but wow. This recipe makes me really want to try it! I bet the parchment gives the fish a really unique flavor.

    Reply

    • Actually this is something you CAN do with kids. Just set up everybody with a heart and let them butter the paper. Add the fish, then let them add the veggies. You drizzle the liquid and then get everybody folding. Have fun.

      Reply

  35. Pingback: FOOD: Recipe- Curried Cod Baked in Parchment Paper | A Girl Named Bong….

  39. Doh! My late afternoon hunger set in just before I landed here. Now I’m starved, and drooling all over my shirt.

    As a grandmother, I got a real chuckle out of your fish poacher in the basement. Will your kids even know what it is when they inherit it?

    Reply

  42. Brilliant idea! How come I never thought of using parchment paper to cook my fish? I have always used foil. If one can cook squab in parchment, why not fish? thanks so much!

    And heart-shaped paper?…awww

    Reply

  53. Pingback: Fish in a butterfly (via The Garum Factory) | Xenia Nova

  54. I love your revival of the snowed-under host’s favourite/easiest cooking method – en papillote. I have never done it ‘properly’ as a butterfly but it works nicely as a folded rectangle or circle, and always with fish to keep it a true ‘fast food’ option. The idea of opening a present of food is universally appealing, as is the whoosh of fragrance when it is greedily opened. Quite the best way to serve fish in my humble opinion. Lovely images and instructions.

    Reply

    • I first read your comment as “snowed-in” rather than “snowed-under” and I thought, Wow! Emergency food! Which is something I never considered. I might have throw some squid in the freezer just to be able to wow the pants off everyone when the snow reaches the window sills. Thanks for the suggestion. Ken

      Reply

  57. presentation, presentation. It look absolutely lovely and delicious, but i know if i try it maybe not lol. Love to cook (and eat!), but really have no clue on presentation. The arrangement of food for presentation enhances the satisfaction of the meal, for sure. How about a blog on presentation? You do such a good job i want to eat the picture!!

    Reply

  63. I saw this on FP yesterday and meant to comment but I didn’t get to it today.. I’m so happy to see someone else posting about this! This is very close to one of my favorite recipes and something I make at least once a month.. love it!!

    Reply

  68. Pingback: Poisson en Papillote (Fish in a Parcel) | eatnownownow

  72. Hey Ken and Jody. Thanks so much for taking us on this adventure with you. Pickled cherries are in the refrigerator, the cod en papillote is resting for the four minutes as I write and I am going to make the shrimp oil mayonnaise and shrimp as an appetizer to bring to a friends tomorrow night. The first time i made that everyone went crazy. In a good way. Thanks again.
    Chip & Keith

    Reply

  73. Ken and Jody. Thanks so much for taking us on this adventure with you. Mmmm. I just finished cod en papillote though with lemon and sliced tomatoes instead of lime and peas. Can’t wait to make it with lime and coconut milk next. Like, Monday. Pickled cherries are in the refrigerator. I will again make shrimp oil mayonnaise and shrimp as an appetizer for a friends dinner tomorrow night. The first time everyone went crazy. In a good way. Thanks again.
    Chip & Keith

    Reply

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