Seafood and Pasta en Papillote – family style
A simple, yet impressive stew of shellfish and white fish can be served in either individual parchment packets or family style in a large baking dish, allowing the seafood and pasta to steam and cook it its own juices. Choose whatever fish is in season, pick your favorite pasta, add herbs and voila… It’s a taste of the French Riviera. (Recipe by Shawnie Kelley)
- Serves
- 4
Directions
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Preheat the oven to 350ºF.
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Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Cook the pasta until slightly underdone, 2 minutes for fresh pasta or 5-6 minutes for the boxed stuff. Drain the pasta, reserving 1/2 cup of pasta water to add to the seafood broth.
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Run it under cool water to stop cooking and toss with a drizzle of oil to keep it from sticking together.
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In a large sauté pan, heat 2 tablespoons of the oil over medium heat until it shimmers.
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Cook the scallions & shallot until soft but, not browned, 1-2 minutes.
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Add the garlic, red pepper flakes, herbes de Provence, tomato paste, and a teaspoon of salt during the last 30 seconds to “bloom” the aromatics.
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Deglaze with the wine, scraping any bits that have stuck to the pan.
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Pour in the broth and reserved pasta water; add the saffron and bay leaf and stir to combine.
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Simmer until the liquid reduces in volume by about half, 5 minutes. Remove from heat and let sit.
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Prepare the seafood for the parchment bags: Cut thicker fillets of fish into equal bite-sized portions for even cooking.
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If using scallops, remove the adductor muscle.
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If using mussels, scrub clean and remove the “beard.”
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If using clams, run cold water over the clams and scrub off any grit.
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Make sure shrimp is deveined and tails removed, if preferred.
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Tear off a large piece parchment paper and mold it into a lasagna pan or roaster to create a large ‘pocket.’
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Or for individual packets, cut the parchment down to the portion size you want.
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Layer pasta, lemons, tomatoes, and fennel into parchment pan.
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Arrange the shellfish and seafood on top, making sure clams and mussels are on the very top or nestled in with room to open.
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Pour the wine broth over the seafood pasta, trying to keep the liquid contained in the parchment.
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This should be fairly brothy and enough liquid to steam open the shellfish. Add extra wine or broth if you need to up the level a bit.
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(Feel free to add olives, capers or julienned vegetables at this point).
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Fold long sides of the parchment up above the pasta and crimp edges together over the center to make a tight packet.
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Bake until the paper lightly browns (or gauge the time based on how long your fish needs to cook.) 12-15 minutes.
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You can usually see when the clams and mussels open because they poke at the parchment.
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Remove from oven, unwrap tableside, and serve into pasta bowls.
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Top with fresh parsley & a side of garlic bread.
From Shawnie's class “Rouleaux de Fromage au Sésame & Saffron-Cardamom Syrup”
