The prepared fish, ready to be wrapped up and baked
Cooking ‘en Papillote’ (known as ‘al cartoccio’ in Italian) is the French cooking method of steaming a food in a parchment paper or aluminum foil round in the oven. You can cook this way with fish, vegetables, you name it and the results are tender bites of deliciousness that have steamed in their own juices and in the flavors of whatever else you add to the parchment pouch. In my Mediterranean Fish en Papillote I am cooking flaky tilapia filets with a combination of Mediterranean flavors—cherry tomatoes, mint, basil, garlic and artichoke hearts flavored with a splash of dry white wine, butter, olive oil and a pinch of salt and pepper. The results are individually wrapped pouches of perfectly cooked fish and vegetables that are healthy and superbly flavorful combination.
The cooked dish served with a side of sautéed yellow squash
(To view this recipe, click on the blue title of the blog post above*)
Mediterranean Fish en Papillote
Ingredients:
- Aluminum foil or parchment paper
- 2 tilapia filets
- 1 Tablespoon of butter
- 1 Tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil
- Salt & black pepper
- 8 cherry tomatoes, halved
- 8 artichokes hearts marinating in olive oil
- Fresh basil
- Fresh mint
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 2 Teaspoons dry white wine
Directions:
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Lay out 2 large pieces of aluminum foil or parchment paper (each approximately 12 inches by 14 inches in size). Place the tilapia filets on the right hand side of each foil sheet. Place ½ tablespoon of butter on each filet, drizzle each filet with ½ teaspoon of oil and season with a pinch of salt and pepper. Lay the cherry tomatoes, artichokes hearts and fresh herbs on top of the seasoned fish, along with the minced garlic. Drizzle 1 teaspoon of white wine over each fish filet as well.
- Fold over the parchment paper/foil over the fish filet and crinkle the edges together to seal the fish into its individual packet. (The packets will end up looking like a half-moon shape, resembling a calzone).
- Place the packets of fish on a baking sheet and bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes. Open each packet carefully and serve directly from the oven.
Tagged: al cartoccio, aluminum foil, artichoke hearts, basil, butter, cherry tomatoes, en papillote, fish, garlic, Mediterranean, mint, olive oil, parchment paper, tilapia, white wine
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