Cod en papillote with ricotta, spinach and sun-dried tomatoes

Cooking en papillote basically consists of cooking thanks to the steam and the juices retained in a wrapping that is applied to the food. It is a technique that works wonderfully for fish, vegetables and for tender meats (such as poultry).

That wrapping required for cooking en papillote can be made with aluminum foil, with parchment paper, with silicone utensils manufactured specifically for that purpose or, as I wanted to show you today, in a ceramic papillote like Emile Henry's.

Before continuing to talk about the ways to cook en papillote, I would like to clarify that the papillote technique is a very old one. It is a very simple and quick cooking method to apply, and with which you get truly exquisite results: the food turns out juicy and full of flavor, since all the aromas and properties of the ingredients are retained inside the wrapper in which they are cooked.

That said, I must say that I think the results are not the same depending on how you make that cooking wrapper: cooking inside aluminum foil, or using silicone utensils, I don't think is the healthiest way to cook, given the direct contact of those materials with the food at very high temperatures. I believe that is the main reason why so many people pay attention to this Emile Henry papillote.

The ceramic papillote proves to be an effective utensil in the papillote technique, providing excellent cooking while being free of toxic materials for health. In addition, it is very easy to clean and, something you'll love: you can use it without the lid as a roasting tray. You have just seen a multitude of uses in this papillote, haven't you?

But today what concerns us is a delicious cod en papillote recipe, so let's get to it!

Emile Henry ceramic papillote dish

Ingredients (for 6 people)

• 2 cod fillets (around 800 g)
• 250 g ricotta
• 100 g sun-dried tomatoes
• 100 g spinach shoots
• 200 g cherry tomatoes
• 150 g pearl onions
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• Salt and pepper

Preparation

1. Preheat the oven to 200ºC.
2. Clean the cod fillets with cold water and then dry them with a kitchen towel. Chop the sun-dried tomatoes into small cubes and wash the spinach leaves to chop them afterwards.
3. In a large bowl, mash the ricotta with a fork. Add the sun-dried tomatoes and the spinach.
4. Lightly grease the base of the Emile Henry papillote dish with a little olive oil. Place one cod fillet and cover it with the previous mixture of ricotta, sun-dried tomatoes and spinach. Place the second cod fillet directly on top. You can tie them with butcher's twine (in the video you'll see a very practical way to do it).
5. Wash and dry the cherry tomatoes and peel the onions.
6. Place the onions around the cod and pour a little olive oil over the cod and the same onions.
7. Put the lid on the papillote and bake for about 25 minutes. Right in the middle of baking, you can open it to add the cherry tomatoes.

Notes

• The sun-dried tomatoes will add more intensity of flavor (you know fish can otherwise be bland), and will make the recipe really tasty. But for that same reason we do not recommend adding too much salt to the ricotta, sun-dried tomato and spinach filling, because the tomatoes already add salt.
• To prevent the cod fillets from falling apart, you can tie them with a butcher's twine.
• The Emile Henry ceramic papillote does not scratch, so you can cut and serve directly at the table, and that papillote will look beautiful on the table. Aside from that it will retain heat for a while, so you won't have to worry if the second course cools down, you'll see that you eat it warm even if it seems like time is passing at the table. Enjoy!