Sole Food: Fish en Papillote

Remember that surreal feeling you got the first time you saw a childhood friend of yours - one you used to crack wise and joke around with -  do something serious ... something grown-up? It's quite shocking, really. This happened to me in my early 20s (practically yesterday, cough) at a birthday dinner for my grandfather.  My mom and I had chosen the restaurant because a friend of mine from high school worked there as a chef.

We ordered the fish in parchment paper, a dish I had never ordered before. Even though I knew my friend worked in the kitchen, nothing could have prepared me for the sight of him dressed in his full chef's whites, cutting open the parchment paper tableside. It made a huge impression on me.  "Whoa, he's a real chef!" I remember saying to my mom.

I guess for that reason I have always thought of that dish as something completely unapproachable to a home cook - it just seemed way too "fancy,"  far too complicated, and altogether too French -  to my (then) young girl's inexperienced and untrained eye.  Clearly a job best left to the pros.

But that food experience really stuck with me, and since I've started cooking,  I've often thought longingly about trying my hand at sole en papillote.

It turns out,  you actually can make it at home. I'm not saying my version approaches the profesional goodness of my chef friend's, but Poppa Trix sure wasn't complaining!

This recipe really doesn't require exact measurement - just eyeball it. First you need parchment paper. Cut a piece twice the size of what you'll need to completely enclose your fish. Fold it in half, and cut it into a rough heart shape. (Actually a half heart - the heart shape occurs when you unfold the paper.) Open the paper back up, and place a 6-8 oz. filet of sole on the right  side, placing 2 or 3 lemon slices underneath. Drizzle the fish with olive oil and sprinkle salt and pepper. Next, place chopped leeks, shallots, garlic, capers, and fresh rosemary and thyme on top of the sole.

Now you're ready to fold! Starting at the bottom left (with the seam on your left) begin folding and rolling the edges together, until you've worked the whole way around the parcel, tucking in the last bit.  Bake your fish in a 400 degree oven for about 20 minutes.



 Your pouches will puff up in the oven:

When they're finished, it's time for the fun part - cutting them open. The herby, lemony aroma that wafts out of the bag is just incredible.

I served mine with a bok choy Provencale (pictured above)  ... the subject of a future post.  Bon apetit!