Learn how to make this delicious Fresh Wild Alaska Flounder en Papillote that is the perfect weeknight healthy meal.
It is detox time in the Parisi household. Enter stage left, Fresh Wild Alaska Flounder en Papillote. It’s been a holiday season of eating cookies, cakes, and roasts and it’s time to turn the corner. There is nothing like fresh Alaska seafood, and this flounder is going to help take our recipe to the next level.
What Is En Papillote
En papillote is a French word that translates to “in the paper.” We are essentially going to cook our Alaska Flounder in some parchment paper along with some fresh vegetables. You can do just about anything en papillote, from chicken to just vegetables, it perfectly steams roasts your food.
It’s safe to say that this is a fantastic way to cook, plus it’ll give you a reason to eat healthily!
Wild Alaska Flounder
There are several different fresh wild-caught Alaska fish that you could use such as salmon, halibut or cod. Since it’s been a minute since I’ve last cooked with flounder, I thought it would go great en papillote. Alaska flounder is a breed of the fish sole and is a flatfish that lives on the bottom of the ocean.
Alaska flounder is super light and delicate in texture and has a very mild flavor. Flounder is just an all-around delicious easy-to-cook white fish.
Vegetables to Use
The cool thing about cooking en papillote is that it’s totally customizable. Once you select your protein, like this Alaska flounder, you then figure out your vegetables. Since I am a seasonal cooker and want to remain on the healthy side, I did an assortment of root vegetables like carrots, onions and potatoes.
Sure, I use some cherry tomatoes, but you can still find some decent ones this time of year. This can change from season to season. Perhaps in the fall, I would do some squashes while in the summer I would maybe look at doing some asparagus. This is exactly why en papillote cooking is so cool. You can literally use whatever you want so that it’s perfect for your taste buds.
How to Prepare It
Since using this cooking method is a very healthy cooking technique I wanted to keep this butter-free. Don’t get me wrong, butter is not bad in moderation but I’m all oil for this one.
The trick to ensure this is delicious is that you need to season every layer of vegetables with salt and pepper and maybe some herbs if you want. Once you are loaded up, you want to fold it up and bake away!
How to Fold the Paper
It can be a little tricky when it comes to folding up the parchment paper for en papillote. Here’s how to do it.
- Fold the parchment paper in half covering the ingredients.
- Starting at the top fold over about a ½ inch or so.
- Continue along the open edge making overlapping folds until it is enclosed
Cooking in the Paper
Once the en papillote is completely enclosed simply transfer it to a baking sheet. I bake the flounder at 400° to ensure it is hot enough to steam everything inside. After about 20 minutes, you should be good to go!
Garnish with some lemon juice, a bit of parmesan cheese, and the delicious dill chimichurri sauce!
More Delicious Seafood Recipes
If you love this, then you will for sure love these seafood recipes.
- Oysters Rockefeller
- Soy Ginger Marinade Pan Seared Halibut
- Classic Salad Nicoise Recipe
- Shrimp Boil with Sausage and Clams
Be sure to follow me on Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, and Pinterest and if you’ve had a chance to make this then definitely drop me a comment and a rating below!
Video
Fresh Wild Alaska Flounder en Papillote
Ingredients
- For the Dill Sauce:
- 2 finely minced cloves of garlic
- juice of ½ lemon
- 2 tablespoons each of finely minced fresh parsley and dill
- ¼ cup of olive oil
- sea salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste
- For the Flounder:
- 1 cup of thinly sliced assorted fingerling potatoes
- 1 bunch of peeled baby carrots quartered
- 1 bunch of broccolette quartered
- 2 cups of packed baby spinach
- ½ peeled and sliced red onion
- 2 pounds of fresh Alaska flounder fillets
- 1 cup of assorted pitted Mediterranean olives
- 1 cup of sliced cherry tomatoes
- ¼ cup of capers
- ¼ cup of olive oil
- sea salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste
- lemon juice and parmesan cheese for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°.
- Dill Sauce: Mix together all ingredients until combined and set aside.
- Fish: Place down a ½ sheet of parchment paper.
- On the right side of the paper lay down some sliced potatoes and layer on some carrots, broccolettes, baby spinach, and onions. Season with salt and pepper.
- Next add on 2 flounder fillets, some olives, tomatoes, capers, olive oil, and salt and pepper.
- Fold the parchment paper in half completely covering the ingredients.
- Starting at the top fold over the open edges overlapping all the way around to the fold to completely enclose the fish.
- Transfer to a sheet tray and bake at 400° for 20 to 22 minutes.
- Remove the fish from the oven, slice open the parchment paper and drizzle on some of the dill sauce.
- 10. Serve hot!
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