Baked Cod Parcels

En papillote is French for “enveloped in paper” (or al cartoccio in Italian).  It is a cooking method where food is sealed in a folded pouch of parchment paper or tin foil and baked. As it cooks, the ingredients gently steam in their juices, locking in moisture and flavor. While commonly used for fish and vegetables, it also works beautifully with lamb and poultry.

This technique has been popular in France since the 17th century.  It’s simple, flavorful, and requires minimal cleanup. In just 20 minutes, you can have a healthy, all-in-one meal on the table. Baked cod with vegetables en papillote is effortless to prepare, making it the perfect midweek dinner.

Cooking in packets offers endless possibilities. If you love this dish, try my soy and ginger shrimp packets or sea bass en papillote with tangerine and grapefruit for another quick and delicious meal!

Use a sharp knife and cut an X in the middle of the parcel. Then, pull back the paper or foil.

The Culinary Chase

Baked Cod Parcels

Cod baked in a foil parcel with asparagus, cherry tomatoes and lemon, topped with crunchy lemon-parsley pangrattato. It steams in its own juices and is ready in about 20 minutes.

Print Recipe

Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 12 minutes mins

Servings: 2 people

Course: dinner

Cuisine: French

Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients

  

• 2 cod fillets or other firm white fish
• handful of cherry tomatoes cut in half
• asparagus enough to use as the base for the fish
• 1 red onion thinly sliced
• 1 large clove of garlic chopped
• 1 lemon zested
• 1 lemon thinly sliced
• handful of fresh Italian parsley chopped

Pangrattato

• 1/2 cup Panko breadcrumbs
• 1/4 cup Italian parsley roughly chopped
• 1 lemon zested

Method

 

1. Preheat the oven to 400°F.
2. Tear off two sheets of aluminium foil large enough to fold in half and fully enclose the fish. Place the foil on a baking tray.
3. To build the base, arrange the asparagus in a single layer, side by side. Drizzle with olive oil and season with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Scatter the tomato halves along the sides of the asparagus. Sprinkle a portion of the pangrattato over the vegetables, then place the cod fillet on top, tucking the tail under for an even fit.
4. Season the cod with salt and pepper, drizzle with olive oil, and add another sprinkling of the pangrattato.
5. Lay the lemon slices over the fish. Fold the foil over and seal the edges tightly with your fingers to create a secure packet.
6. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes. Transfer the packet to a plate and carefully open it with a sharp knife before serving.

For The Pangrattato

1. In a bowl, combine pangrattato ingredients.

The Culinary Chase’s Note

Use any fish fillet you like. Change up the vegetables to suit your palate. Enjoy!