My mother-in-law Patti recently made Salmon en Papillote in the style of Julia Child and Jacque Pepin as a test run for a church auction later in the year. After years of having David (my father-in-law) bring in delicious home cooked meals from Patti, the gentleman in charge of the auction specifically requested Patti to be his Chef and create a menu for 16 people. Her menu will consist of a seasonal salad, the salmon en papillote, and for dessert, a crème brûlée. The money raised in the auction for the food will be donated to the church. For those of you who don’t know what en papillote means–
A classic way to cook a fish fillet is to seal it inside a tightly folded package of parchment paper and bake it briefly in a hot oven. Known as en Papillote, this
gentle method cooks the enclosed fish in its own moisture and creates its own sauce of natural juices.
This particular recipe called for julienned carrots and zucchini and just a few sprigs of fresh parsley, with salt and pepper to season. It cooked in the oven for only 10 minutes. I was nervous because I had never photographed nor eaten fish cooked this way before, but I was in for a surprise! When you open the parchment paper, this glorious swell of steam billows out and you can see the butter and natural juices glistening against the fresh vegetables and herbs. Now, I’m not normally a seafood connoisseur but this made my mouth water! Simple, beautiful, healthy, and delicious! Enjoy and I encourage you to give this cooking method a try!
Charlene Champion Photography 