Cooking en papillote (pah-pee-YOHT), French for “in parchment,” is a classic technique where food, often in individual portions, is enclosed in a folded pouch and steamed in the oven.

This simple yet refined culinary tradition works by trapping the moisture from the food in the pouch. It helps the food cook quickly, with little or no added fat, without losing flavor and retaining luscious aromas.

And there’s no pot or pan to clean. Just dispose of the pouch.

The technique dates to the early days of cooking food, where people took local foliage—banana leaves, corn husks and grape leaves, for example—and wrapped food in them prior to placing them on the fire. The leaves/husks took the place of pots and pans.

These days in the U.S., aluminum foil and parchment paper are the wrappings of choice, and the food is placed in the oven (or microwave) along with herbs and/or other seasonings. No special equipment is required. Poultry, seafood and vegetables are popular foods for en papillote cooking.

You’ll immediately discover the joy of infusion. Topping a piece of fish with a slice of lemon or fresh herbs infuses the protein with those flavors. You’ll have fun playing with the flavors of broths, herbs, juices and spices.

Steaming en papillote (pah-pee-YOHT) requires no special equipment, just the food and a roll of parchment paper or aluminum foil.

 
Why doesn’t the paper bag or folded pocket leak? Parchment baking paper has been treated with an acid and coated with silicone. The result is a liquid-proof, burn-resistant paper (the parchment will brown but not burn, up to 450°F). It’s also nonstick; hence, its popular use as a baking sheet and cake pan liner.

How To Buy Parchment Paper

You can buy parchment in rolls, bags and individually-cut sheets. Rolls provide the most flexibility for baking sheets as well as pockets.

What about bleached versus unbleached parchment paper?

Environmentalists go for unbleached parchment. It’s more expensive, but also more environmentally friendly.

Bleached parchment uses not only chlorine, but typically employs both chlorine and Quilon®, a cheaper alternative to silicone.

Quilon is a chemical solution that contains chrome, a heavy metal. When incinerated it becomes toxic and leaves trace elements. It is approved by the FDA and the USDA, but that doesn’t mean it’s environmentally friendly.

If you have leisure time this weekend, get some parchment and cook en papillote. You can start with these videos from PaperChef.com, which also has plenty of recipes.

No more need to fold pouches: Just add the ingredients to parchment bags. Photo courtesy PaperChef.

February 27th is National Strawberry Day.

What better activity than to make these luscious strawberry cake pops from Lauryn Cohen of BellaBaker.com.

If you’ve never made cake pops but think they’d fit in with family and entertaining, there’s a fool-proof appliance to make round balls of cake: the Babycakes Pop Maker.

There are several cake pops recipe books to help you become an artist. This recipe book has 175 different recipes/designs.

If you like to decorate, you’ll be set for many hours of food fun.

How about something special for National Strawberry Day (February 27th): strawberry salsa.

In addition to serving with tortilla chips, strawberry salsa is delicious over grilled chicken, fish or pork.

This recipes was adapted from TasteOfHome.com. You can customize it by adding other fruits to the strawberries. Mango, grapes, pineapple, pomegranate arils and stone fruits are a few options.

TIP: Wear disposable gloves when cutting and seeding hot chiles; then clean the cutting board and knife, wash your gloved hands and dispose of the gloves. Accidentally touching your eye with the most minute amount of capsaicin fom the chile is an experience you never want to have.
 
 
RECIPE: STRAWBERRY SALSA

Ingredients

 
Preparation

[2] Fresh strawberries make delicious salsa (photo © Good Eggs).

2. SERVE with chips or as a protein garnish.
 
Variations

Native to China and now grown throughout Southeast Asia (plus the U.S. and elsewhere), the kumquat is a tiny citrus fruit that is entirely edible, skin and all. The orange flesh is juicy, acidic and tart (some varieties have are more tart than others). The skin is fragrant and sweet.

Kumquats grow on small trees or bushes. They looking like wee, oval oranges, the size and shape of a large olive.

The word “kumquat” comes from the Cantonese kin kü, meaning golden orange. The earliest historical reference appears in China in the 12th century.

The tiny fruits were introduced to Europe in 1846 by Robert Fortune, a collector for the London Horticultural Society. Not long after, they arrived in North America, and found a happy growing ground in Florida.

People who have never tried kumquats may look at them in the produce aisle, wondering what to do with them. As a citrus fruit, they work wherever other citrus fruits are employed. You don’t peel them or juice them, but serve them halved, sliced or whole. Some opportunities:

Here are dozens of kumquat recipes from Kumquat Growers of Florida—from kumquat ice cream to kumquat tea to kumquat cranberry relish.
 
Kumquat recipes from THE NIBBLE:

 
A final idea: halved kumquats, topped with cream cheese and pepper jelly, as an hors d’oeuvre or tea time snack.
 
BUYING & STORING KUMQUATS

Look for firm, blemish-free fruit with a fresh scent. Avoid kumquats with green skins—they aren’t ripe and won’t ripen off the vine.

You can refrigerate kumquats whole for up to one month, in a plastic storage bag. Freezing is not recommended.

You may have read last week that the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee released its 2015 report. The Committee urges Americans to eat less processed meat and turn to plant-based diets for a healthier, more sustainable lifestyle.

Remember Meatless Mondays? If you’re not already observing them, here’s a nudge via a delicious recipe for net Monday. It uses tempeh, a meat substitute made from soybeans.

 
TEMPEH VS. TOFU: THE DIFFERENCES

Tempeh is a soy-based product that originated in Indonesia, where it is a staple protein. It is made by a natural culturing and a controlled fermentation process that binds soybeans into a cake form, similar to a very firm vegetarian burger patty.

Like tofu, tempeh is made from soybeans, but it is a whole soybean product with different nutritional characteristics and textural qualities. It has a higher content of protein, dietary fiber, and vitamins.

Tempeh has a firm texture and an earthy flavor, and is used worldwide as a meat substitute.

> A recipe for Asian Noodle Bowl With Tempeh is below.

 
How Do They Differ From Seitan?

Seitan is made from wheat gluten. Like tempeh, it is high in protein with a texture similar to meat,
 
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*Soy milk in turn is made from dried, ground, filtered and boiled soybeans.

This delicious recipe can be served as a main course or a first course. It makes two main courses or four first courses or wraps.

The recipe is courtesy of Lightlife, which used its organic soy tempeh.

Ingredients

For The Sweet & Sour Sauce

 
For The Tempeh Noodles

Preparation

1. PREPARE sauce; set aside.

2. PLACE the noodles in large bowl. Pour boiling water over the noodles to cover. Let stand for about 10 minutes or until softened. Rinse with cold water; squeeze to drain well.

3. CUT the noodles in half or thirds; return noodles to the bowl. Add the sesame oil; toss until evenly coated. Set the noodles aside. Meanwhile…

4. HEAT 1 tablespoon of oil over medium-high heat in medium-heavy skillet. Add half of the tempeh in a single layer. Cook for 2-3 minutes, or until golden and crisp, turning the pieces over halfway during cooking. Transfer to a medium bowl. Repeat with another tablespoon of the oil and the remaining tempeh. Pour half of the sauce over the tempeh; toss to coat and set the tempeh aside.

5. ADD the remaining teaspoon of oil to the hot skillet, along with the bell pepper, carrot, green onions and snow peas. Cook and stir about 1 minute or until crisp-tender. Transfer to the bowl with the noodles. Add the tempeh mixture; gently toss until combined.

6. SERVE: Spoon the noodle mixture into individual bowls and drizzle with the remaining sauce. Garnish with basil, cilantro, or sesame seeds.
 
Variation: Asian Noodle Wraps with Seared Tempeh

Serve the tempeh in lettuce leaf wraps.

1. PREPARE the noodle mixture as directed above.

2. SPOON about 1/2 cup of the noodle mixture onto each of 12 large leaf or iceberg lettuce leaves; fold or roll up. Serve with remaining sauce for dipping. Makes about 12 wraps or 4 servings.

For more delicious tempeh recipes, head to Lightlife.com.
 
 

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