Ingredients:
For the Duxelles
For the Tomato Concassée
For the Vegetable Garnish
- 8 Fillets of Chilean sea bass (150 g/5 oz. each)
- 50 ml Vegetable Oil (1.5 fl.oz.)
- Fresh Thyme sprigs
- Parchment Paper
- 2 Egg Whites, beaten
- Oil for grilling
For the Duxelles
- 500 g Mushrooms (16 oz.)
- 60 g Shallots, ciseler (2 oz.)
- 40 g Butter (1 oz.)
- Juice of 1/2 Lemon
- Salt and Pepper
For the Tomato Concassée
- 500 g Tomatoes (17.5 oz.)
- 20 g Onions, chopped
- 50 g Shallots, chopped (1.5 oz.)
- 1 clove Garlic
- 20 g Butter or Olive Oil (.6 oz.)
- 15 g Sugar (optional) (5 oz.)
- Salt and Pepper
For the Vegetable Garnish
- 100 g Carrots, julienne (3 oz.)
- 100 g Leeks, julienne (3 oz.)
- 100 g Celery, julienne (3 oz.)
- 20 g Butter (.6 oz.)
- Salt and Pepper
Preparation
Preparing the Fish
- Fin, scale and rinse the fish. Fillet the fish, leaving on the skin for grilling.
- Rinse the bones and prepare a fish stock
- With a very sharp knife, lightly score the skin side of the fillets in 2 perpendicular lines. This prevents the skin from contracting and causing the fillets to curl when grilled.
- Coat the fillets with vegetable oil and fresh thyme and refrigerate.
Preparing the Concassé
- Peel the tomatoes by plunging them in boiling water for about 30 seconds, rinsing with cold water and removing the skin with a paring knife.
- Sweat the chopped onions, shallots and garlic in the oil.
- Cut the tomatoes in half sideways and squeeze out the seeds over a bowl. Coarsely chop them and add them to the sweated onion mixture.
- Add a little sugar (especially if the tomatoes are underripe). Cover with parchment paper and cook for a few minutes, remove paper lid and cook until all excess water has evaporated. Adjust the seasoning.
Preparing the Mushroom Duxelles and Vegetables:
- Rinse the mushrooms and chop by hand or in the food processor. Be careful, especially if using a food processor, not to purée them.
- Sweat the shallots in the butter for 5 minutes and add the chopped mushrooms and the lemon juice. Cover with parchment paper.
- Cook the mushrooms until there is no liquid left in the pan. Adjust the seasoning. Cook the vegetables separately a l'ànglaise. Toss in butter and season to taste.
Grilling the Fish
- Make sure the grill is clean and extremely hot.
- Wipe excess marinade off of the fillets and mark quickly on the skin-side only. The purpose of grilling the fish is not to cook it but to lightly flavor it and give it decorative grill marks.
Assembling the Papillottes
- Cut the parchment paper into hearts; half of a large sheet is the right size. Ask the instructor for assistance.
- On each piece place a layer of duxelles and 2 tablespoons of tomato concassée. Keep it toward the inner fold. Place the fillet on top of this, skin-side-up, and place vegetables on top, with a sprig of thyme and a few splashes of white wine.
- Brush the edges of the paper with the beaten egg white. Seal the edges by making a series of straight folds. Brush again with egg white and repeat the folding process.
Baking the Papillotes
- Place the papillotes on an oiled sheet pan in a 400°F (204°C) oven to order. They are usually done when completely puffed, about 7 to 8 minutes. Be sure to test and time one before the beginning of service.
- Serve the entire papillote to the customer, or remove fish from the papillote in the kitchen.
Source: The French Culinary Institute
