Trout en papillote with fennel {low carb meal}

This recipe for trout en papillote with fennel and tomato is another cracking dish from Ucook. It’s the perfect dish to adapt to one portion too, and it couldn’t be easier to knock up an unbelievably healthy and delicious restaurant-quality meal in minutes. The warm new potato salad served on the side with simple crème fraiche and parsley is sublime. It’s more of a rustic new potato mash and it’s a keeper.

What is en papillote cooking?

En papillote is a French cooking technique that involves baking food in a folded parchment paper or foil pouch. The term “en papillote” literally means “in parchment,” and the technique is often used for cooking fish, vegetables, and poultry.

To prepare food en papillote, ingredients are placed in the centre of a square of parchment paper or foil, which is then folded into a tightly sealed packet. The packet is then placed on a baking sheet in the oven and the food is cooked in its own steam, which helps to keep it moist and tender.

The technique can be used with a variety of ingredients, and can be seasoned with herbs, spices, citrus, and other flavorings before sealing the packet. En papillote cooking is a healthy cooking method since no added fats or oils are required, and the flavours are concentrated inside the pouch for a delicious result.

I used non-stick baking paper to make the ‘papillote’. You can also use foil, which will be even easier. You simply fold it over to cover the ingredients and then scrimp the edges to seal completely. The food steams in the white wine with the herbs to lock in all the flavour and create a super moist and flaky texture.

The UCook recipe recommends first cooking the fennel and tomato in the bag for 4 minutes with olive oil and seasoning, and then opening it up, adding the trout and white and sealing it again. This was spot on and I guess the optimal time to cook the trout. I skipped this step when I cooked the three fillets as I didn’t want to open and re-open the paper for visual appeal, but I do suggest you do this if you are using foil.

PS: If you cut your fennel very thinly with a mandolin, you will not need to cook it before adding the fish.

*** NB – I make this recipe all the time and don’t often have wine available to use so substitute it with 1 x fish stock sachet (available from Ina Paarman or Woolworths) with about 50 ml boiling water (this is for 1 x large trout fillet. Use 2 x sachets with 150ml water if you are using 3 – 4 fillets). Use salmon if you can’t find trout.

Other seafood recipes you might like:

 Jamie Oliver’s fantastic fish pie

Baked whole trout with herbs and lemon

Mussels with white wine garlic and cream

Creamy salmon pasta with spinach, capers & lemon

Prawn pasta with tomato, garlic & cream

Herb & fennel crusted salmon 

For my other Ucook recipes:

Oven-roasted cauliflower risotto

Chicken & mushroom stroganoff with crispy sage

Grilled soy and lime hake with charred greens, fresh tomato & a chilli dressing

Recipe – serves 4 (50 minutes to prepare) (slightly adapted from UCook)

trout en papillote with fennel and tomato

Trout (or salmon( en papillote (cooked in a pouch) with fennel and baby tomatoes is a restaurant-quality dish that is so easy to make at home

Print Recipe

Prep Time:5 minutes mins

Cook Time:18 minutes mins

Ingredients

• 4 trout or salmon fillets pin-boned but the skin on
• 320 gm baby tomatoes sliced in half
• 3 baby fennel bulbs – or half a large one finely sliced
• 150 ml dry white wine or good quality fish stock
• a few sprigs of dill or fennel fonds
• 700- 750 gms baby potatoes
• 7 gm parsley small handful finely chopped
• 125 ml / half a cup crème fraiche
• salt & pepper
• olive oil
• baking paper

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 180C / 350F and put the potatoes in a pot covered with salty water and bring this to a boil.
• Place the fennel and tomatoes in the paper with a drizzle of oil and season. Fold this up and cook for 5 minutes then remove from the oven.
• Place the trout on top of the veg, drizzle a little olive oil over, add the wine and then scatter over the dill. Seal and place back in the oven on a roasting tray and cook for a further 18 minutes.
• Drain the new potatoes and lightly mash them with a fork. Add the crème Fraiche, parsley and salt and pepper. Serve this with the fish and vegetables when they come out of the oven.
• If you want to give Ucook a try, use my promo code #chefsam to get 30% off your first order. It's a no-brainer.

Servings: 4

Author: Sam Linsell

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