Trout in a parcel with lemon, fennel, and crème fraîche

Truite en papillote avec fenouil, citron et crème fraîche

Papillote sounds a lot more fancy than it actually is—ingredients simply popped into a paper parcel and then baked. The only thing to remember is to seal your parcel well, so that none of the delicious juices can escape.

By Rachel Khoo

From The Little Paris Kitchen: Cooking with Rachel Khoo

Ingredients

• 10 oz baby potatoes, scrubbed
• 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• finely grated zest of 1 lemon
• salt and pepper
• 2 freshwater trout, cleaned and gutted (with bones left in)
• 1 bulb of fennel, thinly sliced
• 4 heaped tbsp crème fraîche
• lemon wedges

Method

1. Steam the potatoes until almost tender, roughly 10 minutes. Leave until cool enough to handle, then slice. Preheat the oven to 325°F.
2. Mix the olive oil with the lemon zest and 1 teaspoon salt and season with pepper. Rub this mixture inside the fish.
3. Place each trout on a large sheet of parchment paper and stuff with the fennel slices. Place the sliced potatoes on the paper, alongside the fish. Now bring the edges of the paper together and fold over to form a sealed parcel, tucking the ends underneath. You may need to use kitchen string or aluminum foil to keep each parcel closed.
4. Bake for 15–20 minutes, depending on the thickness of the fish. To test for doneness, open a parcel and lift up the skin of the fish—the flesh should look opaque, not translucent, and flake easily with a fork.
5. Serve with the juices from the parcels, the crème fraîche, and lemon wedges.