Cod Fish En Papillote (in parchment packet)

[Fiorella]

I used defrosted cod fish filet in this recipe. However, feel free to substitute with any other fish filet, fresh or frozen.

First step is to get a square piece of parchment paper. Note this is not wax paper.

Make the first fold, 1/3 of square

Make the second fold

Make a hem fold on one side

Repeat with hem fold on other side

Place two slices lemon on parchment paper

Get a piece of cod (in this case it is defrosted) and salt and pepper both sides of fish. Place filet on lemon slices.

Spread beef tallow and sprinkle with dried thyme and rosemary. You can substitute tallow with other fats, like butter, ghee, lard, bacon grease or mayonnaise.

Fold both ends as shown to seal the packet

Use toothpick to keep both ends fastened. This is important. To make sure liquids do not run out

Place on oven pan and bake in preheated 400 deg F oven for 25 minutes. When you remove from oven, be careful they will be hot. Use spatula to take them off the pan.

Transfer the packet to a plate (soup dish preferably). With tongs, pull off the toothpick. Careful, steam will be hot.

Tuck the excess parchment behind the fish, carefully not spilling any liquid inside the packet. Add a spoon and fork to complete the rustic plating presentation.

The fish should flake away easily, but still appear juicy and sumptuous.

The way to eat this dish is combining the fish flesh with the fatty fish broth.

And of course, eat everything in the packet, except for the two lemon pieces. Enjoy!

[matt]

I am not big on fish but I want to eat this. I love the way you cook.

[jfricke]

That portion looked like a nice snack.

[Fiorella]

Add more fish…easy fix

[Fiorella]

By the way, @jfricke, there are 2 tablespoons beef tallow in 1 parchment packet. Combined with the oily fish, there is a lot of fat there to drive satiety signal. You can also add a huge dollop of sour cream or mayo, etc…and it doesn’t take much to feel very full beyond that point.

[Jacquie]

@Fiorella I haven’t cooked with beef tallow before. I’m curious as to the flavour of the tallow cooked with fish compared to my ol’ standby, butter, which I love.What’s the difference, in your opinion?

[Fiorella]

It is incredibly delicious! McDonalds used to blend beef tallow in their frying grease…and that was their secret to their competitive advantage of better tasting fries…that was until the public and nutritionists caught on and pressured them to remove it.

A good way of describing the taste tallow imparts to food is to think of how the taste of beef soup cube would blend with the food. Tallow and fish filets like cod are a very good match.

Let me know how it goes if you try it…I hope you do

[Jacquie]

You’ve piqued my interest. Now, I’ve got to try it! I made fish tonight, too. Locally caught fresh NS haddock sauteed in lots of butter with lemon. It was yum.

[Fiorella]

I absolutely ADORE Haddock!!! Aren’t we lucky living on the coast with access to wonderful fish and seafood?

[Jacquie]

We definitely had to be by the ocean, especially after living aboard a boat (down by Stanley Park) for 14 years. We caught and ate some great seafood.

[Fiorella]

OMG! That must have been soooooo awesome. Wow! I can imagine what a wonderful living that must have been. Such a gorgeous place to be, and wow, right on the water!!!

[Jacquie]

Not to go into too much detail but loved the location of the marina, right by Denman and Georgia. We moved just before all the condos went up by the Bayshore. Not sure where you are in the Lower Mainland but you probably know the area. Always bought coffee beans at an Italian family coffee shop on Commercial Dr. Haha, great memories!

[Fiorella]

I’m downtown in gastown! Love this city! Such an awesome place to be! Funny you mention coffee on Commercial Drive…gonna meet up with a group of friends there at one of the italian coffee shops first thing tomorrow morning!! Awesome!

[Jacquie]

Geez, we could have been neighbours, within walking distance of each other! What might have been! Have a great time with your friends tomorrow.

[richard]

That looks awesome - nicely done.

I love cooking fish en papillote. It’s also a paleolithic technique used by Australian aboriginals

This one is an Australian fish (barramundi) rubbed with bush spices and steamed in paperbark (paper thin tree bark) with butter and lemon.

[Jacquie]

Looks amazing! Off to read about barramundi. Love the international flavour of the forum, in general.

[Fiorella]

Wow, wow, wow…Richard! I’m really digging the paleolithic en papillote technique! What were the natural spices you found in the bush? It makes me think of when I get to the “chicken” part of the ZC test, I want to make an authentic italian cacciatore (hunter’s) stew with spices from the forest, like from conifer and evergreen trees.

[richard]

What were the natural spices you found in the bush?

I used Lemon Myrtle, which is a leaf of a tree I had in my front yard. It has a similar flavour profile to lemon grass but with a lot more flavour. I also used some akudjura (bush tomato) but that wasn’t foraged but bought from a spice vendor. I did however have some foraged samphire with that meal.