I’ve got the simplest way to bake fish and it will make you look like a diva in the kitchen. Really.
Years ago, I worked in a little place called Frank’s Diner which served diner food with an upscale twist.
One of my favorite dishes to make at Frank’s was Salmon en Papillote, which means, “salmon baked in paper.” Salmon was baked in a parchment paper envelope,which puffed and browned while in the oven. There’s was magic happening inside the paper, namely light, flaky, moist fish. The browned package was plated and servers cut it open in front of the customer. Food drama at it’s finest.
(A note…I used environmentally friendly parchment paper
Simple to Do
The method is the same, regardless of the type of fish you’re baking. All you do is:
- Cut a heart out of parchment paper that’s larger than the filet. It has to be big enough to hold the fish and have room to fold the edges closed.
- Lay the fish on one half of the heart.
- Season the fish.
- Fold the other half over and crimp the edges closed tightly so no steam escapes.
- Bake for 5 – 8 minutes (depending on the thickness of your fish) and serve.
Side Dish Suggestions
The fish is very light and not strongly flavored so you could serve this with almost anything. Just don’t put cheese on the fish. A few ideas:
- Crispy Sweet Potatoes
- Paremsan Quinoa with Zucchini, Yellow Squash, and Carrots
- White Bean Gratin
- Steamed Veggies or a big, green salad
- Oven Baked Brown Rice (Try punching up the flavor of this since the fish is pretty neutral. Try curry and a little tumeric or cumin and tomaotes.)
Eating Sustainable, Ocean-Friendly Seafood
I used a white fish – acutally Orange Roughy. I thought I was doing the right thing by purchasing wild caught fish until I got home (with the fish, mind you) and did some research. It turns out that Orange Roughy is currently on the Seafood Watch: Avoid List put out by Monterey Bay Aquarium due to overfishing.
Next time I’ll get halibut, cod, or rainbow trout.
The good news?
I found a way to not do this again.
Monterey Bay has a printable, region specific Pocket Guide and a free iPhone app. They detail best choices, good alternatives, and fish to avoid so we can all do our part to keep our oceans healthy and sustainable.
I obviously still cooked the fish and enjoyed every last bite. Joe walked into my office as I was uploading the picture and reminded me that dinner was perfect that night.
What are your kitchen diva tips?
Ingredients
- 2 (6 oz.) fish filets
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted
- kosher salt & fresh ground black pepper to taste
- 1 tablespoon chopped parsley
- 2 pinches of dried majoram
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped shallots
- 4 thin lemon slices
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Cut two pieces of parchment paper about 6 inches longer than the fish filets. Fold each one in half and cut a heart. Open up the hearts. Place each filet on one side of the heart.
- Brush the filets with melted butter. Season lightly with salt and pepper, then sprinkle with parsley, majoram, and shallots. Top with two lemon slices each.
- Now your ready to crimp the edges. Fold the paper over so it covers the filet. Start at the top of the heart and carefully fold the edges closed, overlapping as you go so that the steam can’t get out. When you reach the bottom, fold the point under so that it stays in place.
- Bake for 5 – 8 minutes until the paper is puffed and brown. If your filets are very thin, bake for a shorter amount of time. If you have a very thick piece of fish, you’ll need to bake it longer.
- If for some reason your paper doesn’t brown and you want a dramatic presentation, pop them under the broiler for a few seconds. Don’t walk away from the oven, though, or you’ll ruin your dinner.
- Serve immediately, with the fish in the paper. Cut it open at the table and watch your guest ooh and ahh.
Kestlyn
posted on May 3, 2010 at 7:14 am
Amy, you have convinced me to make fish and I can’t even eat it! My hubby will be SOOOOOO happy. This may be a no brainer…but what would you suggest serving (ie. sides) with this beautiful dish?
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Amy Reply:
May 3rd, 2010 at 7:23 am
@Kestlyn, Good questions. I’ll go back into the post and add some links to specific recipes.. The truth is I still have to think about what to serve with certain dishes.
The fish is really light so you could pair it with almost anything – oven baked rice, quinoa, steamed or grilled veggies, a green salad, sweet potatoes, roasted potatoes, pan-roasted veggies.
My ‘new recipe’ rule is to just try one new thing at a time or else I’m in the kitchen forever and frustrated. I don’t always follow it, but when I do I’m happier and the food tastes better.
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Iris
posted on May 3, 2010 at 8:34 am
Great tips Amy! I am not that great at cooking fish (I tend to overcook it), but I love to eat it, so I will definitely try this method.
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Aubree Cherie
posted on May 3, 2010 at 8:49 am
I’ve never cooked fish. I’m afraid to. It seriously scares the living crap out of me.
I’ve recently started to like fish at restaurants though. Salmon is growing on me, but I think it’s expensive to buy (at least where I’ve looked). I’ll have to look out for halibut since you suggested that.
I like the look of the paper technique. It makes be believe that maybe, just maybe, if I bought/cooked a fish that I could actually stand to eat it too!
~Aubree Cherie
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Jessica
posted on May 3, 2010 at 10:56 am
Yummy yum! This looks so sophisticated and delicious. I love a great, flaky white fish. I wonder how scallops would do cooked in parchment paper? hmmm… Great post and tips!
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Alta
posted on May 3, 2010 at 12:34 pm
Love cooking fish en papillote. My most recent addition to flavors when doing it was to add thinly sliced fennel. yum!
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jamie
posted on May 3, 2010 at 1:11 pm
I must confess I have loved doing fish this way ever since I saw Jacques Pepin doing it! he would also add some julienned veggies, like zucchini, carrots and/or squash. the fennel sounds good too!! I bet that would be awesome with salmon. and thanks for the sustainiblity list for fish
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Amy Reply:
May 4th, 2010 at 1:23 pm
@jamie, This is a great classical French method for preparing fish – and you’re right – you can do whatever you want to jazz it up.
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Amanda Formaro
posted on May 3, 2010 at 3:23 pm
What a fabulous recipe! Gave you a thumbs up
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Barbara @ moderncomfortfood
posted on May 3, 2010 at 4:52 pm
This looks just lovely and reminds me of a dish — Pompano Papillotte — my husband and I used to splurge on at our favorite restaurant in our younger, poorer years. Strangely, though, I’ve never cooked it myself. Many thanks for sharing your recipe and bringing back wonderful memories of this dish. It will be such fun for my husband and I to make your version together.
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sara
posted on May 3, 2010 at 6:09 pm
I have made “fish in a packet” out of a moosewood cookbook, but it is done in foil which I wasn’t too fond of. It was combined with brown rice and chopped greens and an asian marinade. Do you think something like this would work in parchment paper? I think it was cooked for 20 minutes. Do you think the parchment paper would safely cook that long? thanks for any ideas on this.
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Amy Reply:
May 4th, 2010 at 1:22 pm
@sara, Parchment paper is designed to hold up in the oven. You can bake cookies on it or line cake pans with it too. I wouldn’t leave it under the broiler unsupervised but under normal oven circumstances it will be just fine.
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megan
posted on May 3, 2010 at 8:48 pm
I dont make a lot of fish but I never think to do it like this. Looks delicious!
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Linda
posted on May 3, 2010 at 10:02 pm
I’ve often done this with foil. I’ll have to try it with parchment paper. It looks delicious!
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Cyrvy Christina in Colorado
posted on May 16, 2012 at 3:11 am
I love this, I always fry my fish cause every time we bake it it doesnt turn out. Using parachement paper will definately fix that! Though I bet it is expensive? Will I use parchment paper a lot eating g-free?
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Amy Reply:
May 21st, 2012 at 12:35 pm
@Cyrvy Christina in Colorado, I use lots of parchment paper for baking cookies and cakes. I don’t think it’s a gluten-free baking supply – it’s just something that lots of bakers use.
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Cyrvy Christina in Colorado Reply:
May 23rd, 2012 at 10:28 am
@Amy, I understand that it isn’t g-free paper… I am just wondering if it is something I should have on hand since I ma tryin to cook more and more meals with no gluten. I am barely learning all the recipe’s. For instance, so far I am sticking to naturally g-free foods, and have tried cooking g-free pizza and cookies, but other then that, that is it. So maybe i should just have some on hand to do mare baking of meals…
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