Cooking En Papillote literally means “cooking in a bag”. The most common “bag” is parchment paper, but you can use aluminum foil as well. You end up steaming fun and dramatic presentation when you cut open the bags table side and everyone is hit with the wonderful aroma. Note: I got most of this recipe from Andrew DelVecchio, Chef de Cuisine at Top Chef alum Dale Talde's restaurant.
Ingredients
16 ounce halibut fillet ¾” thick - Skin off - Cut in 1" cubes
1 large shallot diced
2 cloves garlic diced
12 Muscles (beards removed)
4 T Butter
8 medium Shrimp (20 - 25)
12 Sprigs Fresh thyme-Remove the leaves from 4 and leave 8 whole
16 cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
1 c dry white wine
1 Fresh Thai Chile or Serrano pepper diced
Directions
Preheat the oven to 400°. Place a small saucepan over medium heat and add EVOO, Shallot, Garlic, Thai chile, Salt. Cook 4 - 5 min stirring often. Turn the heat to mid-high and add the wine and chopped thyme. Simmer the mixture until wine is reduced by ¾ (approx 20 min). You really want to make sure and cook this down because when you steam the fish all of it's moisture will be released and in the bag. Turn off the heat and add the butter. Once the butter melted add the
tomatoes. Set your tomato-wine sauce to the side. Next you build your bags. Below is a description of how, but I would recommend watching a video or two to see the technique. Lay a 12-inch square piece of parchment paper over a rimmed plate. Fold the parchment to make a triangle and then unfold. Into the center of the paper, place ¼ of the cubed halibut, 3 mussels
and 2 shrimp. Pour ¼ of the tomato-wine sauce over the seafood and top with 2 fresh thyme sprigs. Fold the parchment over so the edges meet and crimp and fold to make a tight seal all the way around. Place the pouch on the rimmed baking sheet and set aside. Repeat with another sheet of parchment paper 3 times. Place on the baking sheet and bake for 12 minutes. Remove from the oven. Use a metal spatula to hold the parchment pouch over a bowl, and use scissors to cut off the end of the packet. Carefully empty into the bowl. Repeat with the other
parchment pouches, emptying it into bowls, and serve with grilled bread.
