If you like fish, you will agree with me that one of the best ways to enjoy it is baked en papillote. All its flavor is concentrated, since it cooks in its own juices, and the aroma when you open it is almost otherworldly. So, as you can imagine, this cod en papillote recipe with zucchini is very easy and quick to prepare, with a result that is as delicious as it is healthy.
This recipe, like so many others prepared en papillote, is a clear example that, many times, less is more. Because this technique has no secret, nor does it require long hours at the stove, and the result is simply exquisite.
In culinary slang, cooking a food wrapped up or "in a packet" is known as making it en papillote. Certainly, it sounds very charming in French, but the flavor is just as delicious, whatever language you cook it in. Essentially, it is about wrapping the food to be cooked in paper (baking paper, for example), forming a packet that must be tightly sealed; this way, the steam does not escape while cooking and the food cooks in its own juices.
To make the technique perfectly effective and much easier, while also avoiding paper waste, the "papillote" ceramic dish by Emile Henry will be our ideal helper. A piece completely free of toxic materials, and also reusable again and again (also as a roasting dish, which we would use without the lid).
Everything ready? Let's start with the recipe!
Ingredients for 4 people
- 2 cod fillets (approximately 1.2 kg in total)
- 2 large zucchini
- 2 bunches of spring onions
- The juice of 1/2 lemon
- 1/2 lemon cut into slices
- 10 cl hazelnut oil
- Salt and freshly ground pepper
- A few sprigs of fresh thyme
Preparation
- Preheat the oven to 210 °C.
- Wash the cod fillets and pat them dry היט with a little paper towel.
- Wash the zucchini and cut them into slices about 3-4 mm thick. You can do this with a mandoline, so the slices will cook evenly since they are the same thickness.
- Cut off the root end of the spring onions and remove the first layer. Cut off the tops of the stems and wash them. Cut the spring onions lengthwise, from top to bottom.
- Place the zucchini slices and the cut spring onions in the Emile Henry "papillote" ceramic dish, forming a bed. Reserve a few slices and strips of the spring onions to place on top of the fish.
- Arrange the 2 cod fillets on top of the bed formed by the zucchini and onion, side by side. Once in place, drizzle them with the lemon juice and hazelnut oil.
- Place the remaining vegetables and the lemon slices on top of the cod fillets, arranging them nicely.
- Strip the thyme leaves with your fingers or using a herb stripper and sprinkle it over the fish and vegetables. Add the salt and freshly ground pepper.
- Cover the ceramic dish and place it in the oven for about 25-30 minutes, without opening it at any point.
- After that time, carefully remove the dish from the oven so you do not burn yourself and check that the cod fillets are cooked by gently separating the flesh in the center with the tip of a knife.
- Serve directly in the Emile Henry "papillote" ceramic dish.
Notes
- To give the recipe a different touch, you can add some pickled capers, a few pink peppercorns lightly crushed in a mortar, and a few sprigs of fresh thyme.
- You can vary the flavors and aromas of this recipe by changing the vegetables (use fennel, peppers, tomatoes, ...) or the type of oil (olive, pistachio, toasted sesame ...).
- You can also make this same recipe with any other white fish. With hake, for example, it is exquisite.
