Tag Archives: asparagus

En Papillote: Startlingly Simple, yet Sounds Super Fancy

Posted on by

It’s ridiculous, I know, that any time a dish has a French name, one assumes it is complicated, contains a heavy sauce and takes ages to prepare. Well, have you ever tried preparing fish en papillote? Or,  al cartoccio? Or in parchment paper, to use layperson’s terms? It is super simple, and I’d also add forgiving.  The most challenging thing might be to remember to purchase a roll of parchment paper suitable for cooking, because you probably don’t have it in your pantry. Oh, and did I mention this is a very light and healthy method, too?

Here’s a basic recipe for cooking en papillote (note I will try to use the French as much as possible):
  • Rip off a square of parchment paper (15X15 for instance)
  • Place 1 fillet of fish (that’s a fresh fillet of fish of your choice, not a Filet o’Fish) on the parchment. Try thin white fish, like sole or snapper, or denser fish, like salmon or halibut
  • Chop up some veggies that you have in the fridge. Julienne carrots, chop up asparagus, small florets of broccoli, etc, and place a handful on top veggies on top of fish fillet
  • Season with salt and pepper, and any other dried or fresh herbs to your liking.
  • Squeeze some lemon juice or lime juice (some sort of acid) and a drizzle of olive oil
  • Pull one side of the parchment paper to the other side and begin folding, eventually tucking the corner under the packet. Repeat for as many people you are serving
  • Bake in 400 degree oven for 15-25 min depending on thickness of fish
The great thing is that this is a FORGIVING method. Even if the fish is cooked a minute or two too long, it will still taste delicious. It will never get dried out because of the steam formed within the sealed packet. The downside of this method is that you can’t check for doneness. You must trust the recipe you’re following.
Apropos, this is what I’m making tonight – a great recipe from Real Simple.  Steamed salmon with asparagus and scallions. The juice from the lemon makes everything taste fresh and citrusy – yum. I skipped the potatoes (which you prepare separately), and added some cauliflower to the fish packets.  Hubs even approves of this dish, but he hasn’t had it with cauliflower before. Stay tuned…

Monday Night Dinner: Quinoa & Bean Salad

Posted on by

I was feeling like something fresh and light after a long weekend of travel and nonstop snacking. I wanted a combination of veggies and a healthy grain or protein. I settled on quinoa, a newly discovered foodstuff for me.

Oh, quinoa, how do I love thee, let me count the ways?

You are easy to prepare, versatile and oh-so-healthy. Not quite a grain, more like a vegetable, high in protein and the good kind of fiber.  Downsides are that it is messy to clean up when consumed by a toddler, but even the munchkin likes it.
I loosely followed this recipe for Quinoa and Bean Salad, with a few substitutes:
  • Prepare quinoa as instructed on package
  • In a separate pan, saute 1/2 of a chopped red onion
  • Add 12 – 15 stalks of asparagus, cut into 1″ pieces
  • Saute’ for a few minutes and add quinoa once ready
  • Take off heat and mix in 2 cups of arugula, some shredded basil, crumbled ricotta salata and a few tablespoons of vinaigrette
  • Mix well and serve. The arugula should wilt slightly. Add additional salt and pepper as necessary
I used ricotta salata instead of feta in the recipe because I knew hubs would NEVER touch it if he heard it included feta. And I skipped the beans. Would have been another reason for refusal to eat from the audience…
Aftermath
Yummy dinner, maybe a little light as a main dish. Husband asks:

What’s the big deal about quinoa?