En papillote
I know we’re truly in the thick of winter when I bust out the papillote recipes left and right. The season and the dish remind me of each other: both bursting with warmth and comfort on the inside, like what I would imagine a family home with central heating and a fireplace would feel like. Since my apartment doesn’t have either of those, I cook en papillote to give me that same feeling of perceived warmth, and for the most part, it’s achieved, albeit on a much smaller scale. My toes are still frozen and I’m a blanket mummy, but my stomach is a happy camper, as warm as can be.
Papillote is a one-shot dish in which you place raw ingredients on a sheet of parchment paper, wrap them up like a parcel and cook the whole thing in the oven. The parchment essentially steams everything into a vibrantly flavored meal, trapping in all the aromas and juices that would have otherwise escaped in baking or sauteeing.
And perhaps what I love most about the cooking method is that it’s almost wrong how good the dish is, considering that it doesn’t adhere to the age-old notion of “the tougher the job, the greater the reward.” It’s quite the opposite — the result is exponentially greater than the minimal effort going into it. Conclusion? George Allen has probably never had the pleasure of cooking en papillote.
Click on “Read the rest of this entry” for two papillote recipes.
Cook’s note: In both recipes, the chicken can be substituted for any white fish, like halibut or tilapia. If using fish, note that it will be done at 140 to 145 degrees. I recommend testing with a thermometer to be sure.
CHICKEN EN PAPILLOTE WITH BASIL AND CHERRY TOMATOES
- Yield: 1 serving
- 1 boneless chicken breast (with or without skin)
- salt and pepper, to taste
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/4 cup onion, sliced
- 1 garlic clove, sliced
- 2 tablespoons white wine
- 4 to 5 cherry tomatoes, halved
- 2 leaves basil, chiffonade
- Garnish: fresh basil chiffonade
Equipment needed: parchment paper, kitchen twine, rimmed cookie sheet
- Procedure:
- 1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- 2. Salt and pepper chicken and place on parchment sheet. Drizzle with olive oil.
- 3. Add onion, garlic, white wine, cherry tomatoes and basil. Wrap parchment tightly around contents and secure into a package with kitchen twine. Place on cookie sheet.
- 4. Place in oven for 35 to 40 minutes or until thermometer inserted into chicken reads 165 degrees. Unwrap package and serve hot, with a garnish of fresh basil chiffonade.
CHILI-LIME CHICKEN EN PAPILLOTE
- Yield: 1 serving
- 1 boneless chicken breast (with or without skin)
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- 1/2 chili powder
- 1/4 teaspoon paprika
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/2 lime
- 1/4 cup onion, chopped
- 1/4 cup celery, chopped
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 1/2 carrot, cut into large chunks
- 2 tablespoons white wine
- Garnish: Chopped parsley
Equipment needed: Parchment paper, kitchen twine, cookie sheet with rim
- Procedure:
- 1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- 2. Cut a few thin slices of lime, and place on sheet of parchment paper. Sprinkle salt, pepper, chili powder, paprika and cayenne pepper over chicken breast. Place chicken over lime slices and squeeze juice from the rest of the lime over chicken. Drizzle with olive oil.
- 3. Throw in onion, celery, garlic, carrots, and white wine. Tightly twist parchment paper into a package and tie with kitchen twine. Place on cookie sheet and place in oven for 35 to 40 minutes or until thermometer inserted into chicken reads 165 degrees. Unwrap package and serve hot.
– Cynthia Furey
February 12th, 2009 at 3:12 pm
This looks delicious – and a simple, beautiful dish.
February 12th, 2009 at 3:30 pm
Yum, both recipes sound really good!! I actually made a chicken dish in parchment paper today as well!! Mine was with pesto, lemon, courgette, cherry tomatoes and fennel.
February 12th, 2009 at 3:38 pm
I’m making this next week! Yum.
February 12th, 2009 at 4:45 pm
You read my mind: I just bought 1 lb of tilapia this morning. Both recipes look wonderful but chili and limes . . . ! I’m sure the flavors will be as vibrant as these photos.
February 12th, 2009 at 7:59 pm
I love cooking fish with this method. Your dish looks so fresh and delicious. Beautiful color.
February 13th, 2009 at 5:56 pm
I love these. And when they’re done, it’s like opening a present! Your photography is amazing, by the way.
My mother makes Indonesian “en papillote” dishes using catfish, peppers, lemongrass, turmeric, ginger and other spices. Except she wraps it in foil. So I guess it would be “en foil.”
Oh, how blasphemous I am à la langue française.
February 14th, 2009 at 1:23 pm
I always cook “en papillote” with fish and never thought to use chicken. I love lime and chicken (and I actually really hate touching raw chicken so this method of cooking really minimizes the touching part). The color of your tomatoes is gorgeous.
February 14th, 2009 at 9:08 pm
I’m searching for a recipe while my chicken breast is thawing! This is it! Thank you!
February 14th, 2009 at 9:57 pm
This is a delicious recipe and beautiful pictures…I am so glad I found it!!!
February 17th, 2009 at 6:02 pm
The chili lime chicken is the winner, though both look absolutely delicious.
February 18th, 2009 at 7:51 pm
Stunning photographs! The food is so brilliantly colored and striking against the paper. I’ve done fish several times en papillote but never chicken. I’ll be trying chili lime recipe soon.
February 19th, 2009 at 1:04 pm
“The parchment essentially steams everything into a vibrantly flavored meal, trapping in all the aromas and juices that would have otherwise escaped in baking or sauteeing.”
Totally, in the flavor industry, they use closed top kettles for this very reason. The steam contains many aromatic, and therefore flavor, components, if it’s allowed to stay in contact with the food, the food will pick up more of these components. Note that this method is superior to steaming, as it only uses the moisture from the ingredients, allowing the steam to be much more concentrated with aromatics. Just think about the concept of Couscous, where the steam from the aromatics below, are trapped in the grains of semolina above.
March 10th, 2009 at 9:05 am
I just came by to let you know that I tried this and loved it!
I posted it on my blog, but when I came to let you know, I noticed the trackback above stole my post! The original post is here: http://mindysmouthful.blogspot.com/2009/03/experimenting-en-papillote-style.html and the trackback above is a spam blog that has been stealing posts from the food blogosphere!
March 11th, 2009 at 12:04 pm
Mindy, I’m so glad you liked the recipe!
July 6th, 2011 at 1:15 am
This looks absolutely delicious!
What would you suggest for a vegetarian though? I’d love to paperwrap something and stick it in the oven but both meat and fish are not an option.
July 6th, 2011 at 9:04 am
Hi Ariane!
Thanks for reading. You can absolutely just do vegetables! Just use a splash of white wine and some veggie broth, and reduce the time to 7-10 minutes, depending on what veggies you’re using. You can add tons of herbs too.
July 7th, 2011 at 1:42 am
thanks! I’ll try it out this weekend
I adore your blog btw