I can’t stress how much I love my food cooked en papillote. “En papillote” (“in parchement”) illustrates the technique of cooking and serving food wrapped in paper. This method is very common in french cooking. Not only fish can be cooked this way but chicken too. I previously use “en papillote” method to steam sea bream in chinese way. 

“Meal in a bag” is such a simple method and incredibly healthy as it’s equivalent to the method of steaming. Not to mention that the flavours are sealed in during the cooking process. The bag slightly swells as steam is produced and you finally get a meal in a bag!

These days, my working life has been very demanding. So, all I favour on my menu is quick and healthy meal that doesn’t require me to spend lots of time in the kitchen. It could probably be the stress at work that makes me gets hungry as soon as I reach home!

I learnt that serving a colourful array of fruits and vegetables makes the meal more interesting. Not that it pleases our eyes but it helps us to get wider range of healthy nutrients such as vitamins, fibre and antioxidants. Antioxidants can reduce the risk of heart disease and cancer and even help to slow down the ageing process! “Eat your greens” used to the what we all have been told. But, nowadays it’s more to “eat your reds, yellows, oranges, blues, purples….”

You may be interested to know which colour bring us what kind of nutrients:

• Red fruits and vegetables, such as strawberries, raspberries and redcurrants, are all good sources of vitamin C.
• Yellow pineapples are known to contain and enzyme called bromelin, that helps with arthritis and inflammatory problems. Bananas are packed full of energy and are a good source of potassium.
• Orange fruits and vegs – like carrots, pumpkins, mangoes and apricots – contain carotenoids, which are powerful anti-oxidants that help combat heart disease, cancer and prevent premature ageing.
• Blues, such as plums, blueberries, blackberries and blackcurrants, contain combinations of vitamin C, vitamin E, flavonoids, and bacteria-inhibiting anthocyanins.
• Greens, which are packed full of many different vitamins and minerals, many of which are very valuable in preventing heart disease.

For my salmon en papillote, as you can see, I have green, orange, red, and yellow! Very colourful, healthy and yummy!!

Recipe: Salmon & Vegetables en Papillote

For 2 persons

Ingredients:

Salmon fillets, 2

Cherry tomatoes, 8-10

Mange tout, 100g

Lemon, few slices

Orange (chopped), half

Orange juice, 1 – 2 tbsp

Lemon juice, 1 – 2 tbsp

Thyme, a few sprigs

Sea salt, to taste

Black pepper, to taste

Extra virgin olive oil, 2 tbsp

Method:

1. Cut parchment paper into square, big enough to be able to accommodate and wrap all the ingredients into a package.

2. Preheat the oven at 180°C.

3. Rinse and dry the fish using kitchen towel.

4. Rub the salmon with sea salt and black pepper.

5. Drizzle extra virgin olive oil and add the lemon and orange juice.

6. Arrange the vegetables around the fish. Add chopped orange and slices of lemon on top of the salmon.

7. Add a few sprigs of thyme to finish off.

8. Fold the paper in half lengthwise to close and roll the edges together to seal the packets.

9. Place salmon en papillote on the baking tray/dish and cook for about 15 – 20 minutes.