For this particular recipe, I used fillets of fresh cod. Any flaky white fish will do. We'll make a Bechamel sauce flavored with some fresh tarragon and a touch of nutmeg. We add some shrimp pieces to the sauce and pour the sauce over the fish fillet, then wrap the sauce topped fish in the parchment paper. You bake in a 450 degree oven for about 15-20 minutes, till the fish is tender and the paper is turning golden brown. To serve, simply put on a plate and cut a slit in the parchment paper. This makes an elegant presentation, keeps the fish moist, and holds the delicious smelling aromas until you make the slit in the paper. If you think this sounds good, just follow along and I will lead you step by step through the process. It is really quite simple.
Ingredients: (Serves 4)
Parchment paper
1/2 Lb. medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
6 TBSP butter
6 TBSP all purpose flour
11/2 Cups whole milk
1/2 Cup Heavy Cream
1 tsps fresh tarragon, finely chopped
Dash of nutmeg
Salt and pepper to taste
4 - 6 Oz. pieces of cod or other solid white fish
2 TBSP butter melted
Preparation:
Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Cut four pieces of parchment paper, each about 18" long. To make a papillote, fold a piece of the parchment in half crosswise. Starting at the folded edge, cut a half heart shape, so that when the paper is unfolded you will have a full heart, just like you learned to do in grade school. Repeat three more times, so that you have 4 hearts, each at least twice the size of your pieces of fish. Here is a picture of one of my hearts with the fish, to give you an idea of the size.
The next step is to boil the shrimp. Put enough water in a three quart sauce pan to cover the shrimp. Bring the water to a boil over high heat. Once the water is at a rolling boil, add the shrimp. When the water returns to a boil, boil the shrimp for two more minutes. Remove from heat and dump into a strainer over the sink. Immediately run cold water over the shrimp so that they stop cooking. When they are cool enough to handle, chop the shrimp into bite sized pieces and set aside.
Next we will make our Bechamel (White Sauce). In a medium sauce pan, melt the six TBSP of butter over low heat. Begin whisking the flour a little at a time into the butter until it is well blended and smooth. Remove from the heat and slowly whisk the milk and cream into the butter and flour mixture. Return mixture to the heat and bring to a simmer. Whisk constantly to prevent lumps. Cook until mixture has thickened. This is a fairly thick bechamel. Remove from heat and stir in the tarragon, a pinch of grated nutmeg and the shrimp.
To assemble the papillotes, place a piece of fish on each heart shape as in the picture above. Spoon the Bechamel over each piece of fish. It will look like this.
Turn one of the filled hearts with the folded edge toward you. Holding the edges of the paper together, make a fold in a small section of the rim. Crease it with your fingers and fold it over again. Hold down the double fold with the fingers of one hand, and with the other, start a slightly overlapping and then again double overlapping fold. Each double fold should overlap the previous one. Repeat this folding around the rim, finishing at the pointed end of the heart with a tight twist of the parchment, locking the entire fold in place. Here is a picture of a completed papillote.
Brush a glass baking dish with melted butter. Lay the papillotes in the baking dish so that they don't overlap. Brush the outside of each papillote with melted butter and bake in the 450 degree oven for about 15-20 minutes. Remove from oven and slit each papillote with a knife. Serve immediately. I like to serve this with some nice green beans, small roasted potatoes and a glass of good chardonnay. Enjoy.
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