Papillotes – Simply delicious

Stuffed vine leaves from Tunisia, pork chops with maple syrup from Canada, lamb with coriander, turmeric and cumin from Bali, chicken with soy shoots from Singapore and more besides…

What all these dishes have in common is that they are prepared in papillotes, or parcels, a cooking method that brings out the flavour of the food, based on the principle of steaming, in which hot air circulates inside a sealed envelope.

The interest of this technique lies in the fact that everything (or almost everything) can be cooked in papillotes.

First and foremost, fish. A drizzle of olive oil and a few diced vegetables are all it takes to make a delicious dish (papillote of scallops, perch with ginger and spinach and of course the hallmark recipe of French chef Joël Rebuchon: papillotes of prawns with basil).

As far as meat is concerned, chicken breasts are delicious when accompanied with mushrooms, courgettes or carrots and covered with cream or white wine.

And for dessert, papillotes of fruit with dark chocolate or caramelised apples with pine seeds are irresistible. To be sure of serving you truly succulent papillotes, purists have a few secrets: anticipate the quantity of juice released to avoid boiling the food; cut the food into small pieces before cooking so that it is just cooked through when the papillote is opened; don’t forget the seasoning (herbes de Provence, onions, or even lemon juice); and, finally, take care with the wrapping.

A wide variety of wrappings exist. The most traditional include aluminium foil, greaseproof paper, silicone cases and special 100% natural papillote paper, made from cellulose, which is acclaimed by chefs because it is very easy to use. Plant-based papillotes are also widely used because most of them are edible: cabbage leaves, leeks, banana leaves and vine leaves.