Letter from the Editor

Pompano en Papillote is an old-school New Orleans dish. En papillote — pronounced ON poppy-YOTE — is the French way for saying “in paper,” which is how the fish is cooked. The French have been baking fish and other food en papillote since at least the 17th century. Cooking en papillote seals in the moisture of whatever you are making, even chicken and steak.

Food history has always fascinated me, probably in part because I was lucky enough to grow up in one of the great food cities of the world. Pompano en papillote was invented at Antoine’s Restaurant, my city’s oldest restaurant — the same restaurant that invented Oysters Rockefeller and Eggs Sardou. Antoine Alciatore, the founder, created the dish in honor of balloonists from his native France. And now that I think about it, the parchment does sort of puff up like a balloon during baking.

Cooking food in paper is one of those cooking techniques that seem to come and go, and these days it’s rare to find Pompano en Papillote or any fish en papillote on a New Orleans menu. In a city that loves dinner and show — think Bananas Foster and Cherries Jubilee — I don’t know why. In a somewhat theatrical display, your fish comes to the table still in the parchment paper in which it has been cooked. When the waiter slices open the parchment, there’s a rapid release of the built-up steam, eliciting “ooohs” and “ahhs” from everyone at the table.

OK, I admit it’s true that the best thing I make for dinner is usually reservations, but I can make fish en papillote, after a lesson with chefs Greg and Mary Sonnier. (Their exquisite restaurant, Gabrielle, is on my short list when people ask, ‘Where should I eat?’)

If you want to throw a dinner party your friends will never forget, or at least actually enjoy, hire a private chef for a hands-on dinner. Greg and Mary taught us how to make fish en papillote and Oysters Gabie, possibly my favorite restaurant appetizer ever. But first they had to teach 12 adults how to cut a heart out of a piece of parchment paper, like a kindergartner making Valentines. (First you fold it in half, then you cut it to form a perfectly symmetrical heart shape when opened.) The hardest part of the dish is folding that parchment heart around the fish. The paper needs to be pulled tight, very tight, like lid-on-a-new-jar-of-pickles tight, so that the fish, vegetables and herbs are completely encased; otherwise, the steam will escape and the fish will be dry.

You can steam just about any firm fish in parchment — I like flounder — from speckled trout, redfish and grouper to amberjack, mahi-mahi, even mullet. All you need is fresh herbs for flavor, vegetables for color and texture, a splash of liquid to help create the steam, and a bit of fat, like a pat of regular butter or crab butter (see page 19).

In a pinch, you can use aluminum foil instead of parchment paper. (Your fish will cook a bit more quickly, too.) And if you want a no-fuss version of fish en papillote, at Rouses Markets we sell our own in-house, freshly prepped, cook-in-the-bag fish with garlic butter and vegetables in our Seafood Department. Our bags can be cooked in the microwave or oven, so you can save those paper hearts for Valentine’s Day. You’re welcome.