Cod en Papillote with Absinthe

Cod and aniseed pair well together but when I think of aniseed, I think of absinthe — absinthe is an anise-spirit after all. I made an absinthe-brushed cod en papillote with fingerling potatoes and asparagus. It sounds difficult to make but it’s actually pretty easy.

So what is en papillote? It’s basically a cooking method: you’re wrapping food in parchment paper ((la)papillote) to make a paper package and then baking it. The paper keeps the moisture in so the food stays juicy and tender.

The only challenging thing about cooking en papillote, in my opinion, is folding the parchment tight enough so you don’t have too much steam escaping. Serious Eats has a great slideshow on sealing parchment paper if you’re a first timer.

For four servings:

  • 1 lb. fingerling potatoes, unpeeled
  • 1 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 tsp. kosher salt
  • 1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
  • 4 6-8 oz. cod fillets
  • 1 tsp. extra virgin olive oil
  • about 2 tbsp. absinthe
  • 1 lemon, thinly sliced
  • 8 to 12 spears asparagus

Preheat oven to 425F. Toss potatoes in olive oil, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and black pepper. Roast potatoes in a foil lined baking sheet for 30 minutes or until tender. Remove potatoes from sheet (don’t turn off the oven!).

Cut four large pieces of parchment paper, large enough that if you fold the paper over into a smaller rectangle, you should still be able to wrap the fish up (see Serious Eats directions on En Papillote). Place a few roasted potatoes on each parchment paper, dividing them evenly among the four parchment papers. Set fish on top of potatoes. Mix together teaspoon of olive oil, remaining salt and absinthe; brush fish with this mixture. Place lemon slices and 2 to 3 spears of asparagus on top of fish.

Fold the other half of the parchment paper and make a tight seal around the edges.

Place parchment packages on a clean baking sheet and roast 10 to 12 minutes. Cut open the papillote to eat.

*Remember: Star Anise ≠ Anise/Aniseed/Green Anise
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