by Levana Kirschenbaum

A meal in a package! That’s what this simple fish dish is. Enclosing it with its toppings in foil or parchment seals in all its flavors. Papillote is a cute French word that means curl, flutter or blink. In the food world, it refers to the frill that tented paper forms around an enclosed ingredient, which remains moist and succulent throughout the cooking process. Try this recipe with any firm-fleshed fish such as snapper, striped bass, ocean perch or mahi-mahi. The combination I use here is a surefire hit. The miso paste helps make a rich, thickened sauce, and the rice vinegar is very mild and delicate. The portions below are meant to serve four as an entree. But if you’re serving this as an appetizer, make each portion half as big and you’ll happily feed eight.

Ingredients:

4 black bass fillets (about 8 ounces each), thoroughly dried with paper towels

4 square parchment pape or foil, about four times the size of the fillets

3 tablespoons miso paste

2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil

1 tablespoon rice vinegar

Freshly grounnd pepper

4 scallions, thinly sliced

1/2 cup shitake mushrooms, caps only, sliced

Vegetable or olive oil for brushing

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

2. Place each fillet near the center of a paper square. In a small bowl, combine the miso paste, sesame oil, vinegar and pepper to taste. Spread this mixture on top of the fillets. Scatter the scallions and mushrooms on top of the fillets. Fold the paper or foil squares to enclose the fish loosely, but completely, crimping the paper as you go, forming packets. Leave enough room when shaping the packets to provide an outlet for steam. If you are using parchment paper, brush the top of each closed packet lightly with vegetable or olive oil.

3. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes. Transfer the packets to individual dishes. Let each guest open his or her own packet and eat out of it.

Serves 4 for an entree, or 8 as an appetizer