creative
cooking
Cooking under wraps
The wonders of cooking in parchment paper
By Laura Langston and refrigerated a few hours until it’s time to fast, even cooking. When cooking fruit or
COOKING IN PARCHMENT PAPER is fast, bake them. vegetables on their own (without added
mess-free, impressive enough for company Especially suited for cooking fish and poultry, meat or fish), cut all ingredients to a
and incredibly healthy besides. vegetables, the en papillote method can also uniform size unless you are juggling hard
Derived from an ancient practice of be used to cook fruits, poultry and meat, and soft combinations such as potatoes with
wrapping fish in natural fibres to keep it though meat and poultry don’t brown this onions or apples with blueberries. In that
moist while it cooks, the method was refined way. There are two ways to deal with that: case, thinly slice the harder fruits or vegeta-by the French—before parchment they used Pre-grill poultry or meat ahead of time, or bles to allow them to cook before your softer
paper bags—who call it cooking en papillote. cook it in a coloured sauce that blankets it. ingredients turn to mush.
In Italy it’s called cooking al cartoccio. While you can cook up to four portions Liquid should be added judiciously. Too
The premise is simple—food is wrapped in one large package, it’s more fun (and easier much and you’ll end up with soup; too little
in parchment paper with a little added liquid to control cooking times) if servings are and you’ll have jerky. Much also depends on
before being sealed and baked in a hot oven. cooked individually. vegetable selection: Carrots, for instance,
Steam builds, the parchment puffs and fla- Whatever method you choose, ingredi- give off little moisture, while zucchini is
vours intensify as the food quickly cooks. ents should be uniform in size. Each piece of moisture-filled. C
There’s no loss of nutrients and little, if any, fish or chicken should be roughly the same
added fat. Because parchment is moisture- thickness. Accompanying vegetables should Journalist-turned-novelist Laura Langston lives
proof, the packets can be assembled ahead be julienned into thin matchsticks to ensure with her family in Victoria, British Columbia.
d
Salsa-Smothered Chicken
THIS IDEA CAN BE adapted with different kinds
of salsas, your favourite pasta sauce or even a
curry sauce. Depending on the moisture content
of what you choose, this dish can be saucy, so it’s
best served on top of polenta or rice.
4 boneless, skinless 1/2 white onion, sliced
chicken breasts, into thin rounds
170 g ( 6 oz.) each 250 mL ( 1 cup)
11 green pepper, chunky salsa
seeded and cut 60 mL (1/4 cup)
into thin rings cilantro
PHOTOS BY IRIDIO PHOTOGRAPHY
Preheat oven to 200 C (400 F). Cut 4 pieces of
parchment—either in a heart shape or leave as
a rectangle. On one side of one sheet of parchment, place chicken breast. Spread 60 mL (¼
cup) salsa over top. Add ¼ of the green pepper
rings and ¼ of the onion rings. Bring parchment
edges together and seal. Repeat process with
remaining breasts and ingredients. Place packets on a cookie sheet and bake for 25 minutes.
Garnish with cilantro. Serves 4.
The Costco Connection
Most Costco warehouses carry parchment paper,
along with meat, poultry, vegetables and fruits, so
you can try cooking en papillote at home.
