In France they call cooking in parchment "en papillote". In Italy, it's "al cartoccio". What does it mean? It's a cooking technique that involves wrapping food, typically fish, chicken and/or vegetables in parchment paper. We riffed on this universal technique by using blanched swiss chard leaves as our “parchment” wrapping. Though regular parchment parchment would be simply delicious, the swiss chard adds another layer of flavor and it’s a good way to get your greens.
SHOPPING LIST:
4 large swiss chard leaves
1 Tablespoon kosher salt
3# red snapper, skin removed
1 Tablespoon Bella Cucina Wild Oregano & Sage Savory Salt
1 lemon
2 Tablespoons Bella Cucina Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1/4 cup Mayonnaise
2 Tablespoons Bella Cucina Olivada Olive Pesto
PREPARATION: Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.
In a large pot of boiling water, add the salt and swiss chard leaves, making sure the leaves are submerged completely. Blanch just until soft, but not falling apart, about 1 minutes. Remove from the pot with a slotted spoon or tongs and place on a dry towel or paper toweling.
Line a sheet pan with parchment. Place the leaves with the vien side up on the parchment, opening up the leaves fully. With a sharp knife, slice cut the snapper into 4 equal pieces, then slice each piece thinly on the bias so you have 3-4 thin slices per person. Place the sliced snapper on top of each of the leaves, in the center. Season with the salt. Cut the lemon in half. Slice one half of the lemon into four slices. Squeeze the juice of the other half of the lemon on each packet of fish. Place the sliced lemon on top. Drizzle with olive oil. Fold the ends of the swiss chard leaves over the fish. You can cover the fish completely, or keep some of the fish exposed. Place pan in oven and cook for 12 minutes.
In a small bowl, mix the mayonnaise and the olive pesto until blended.
When the fish is done, remove from oven and carefully transfer the “packets” onto a plate. Serve with the Olivada Aioli on the side.