The Capsule Pantry—Chicken "En Papillote"
When in France...
There is something incredibly satisfying about making simple food look fancy. Like you’ve become a trickster.
And is there anything fancier than giving every person around the table their own little parcel that, once opened emits clouds of gorgeously scented steam and reveals beautifully cooked food inside?
For this woman who grew up on frozen burgers and chips, I think not.
I ended up in Nantes in northern France the other day. A quick pit stop on the way to Croatia.
I knew that Nantes had a reputation for great wine. After all, it’s the epicenter of one of the world’s most underrated wines, Muscadet. But I had no idea how obsessed they are with food.
Once I was presented with a seemingly infinite number of grocers, butchers, and wine shops, it only seemed fitting that we stayed at home one night to cook.
I took a peek into the cupboards of my Airbnb and found some baking parchment. My brain sparked with the idea of chicken en papillote.
En papillote literally means “in foil.” It’s a traditional French way of cooking protein and vegetables which traps steam inside a small parcel of baking paper which prevents any drying out issues.
Like I say, it looks pretty fancy but it’s actually incredibly simple. So much so, I managed it in an Airbnb.
I chose chicken for my protein and layered up cooked onions and garlic, seared chicken legs, rosemary, and lemon into a square of baking parchment. The onions became amazingly sweet and soft as they cooked under the chicken.
I roasted potatoes and carrots to accompany them.
The best thing about papillote cooking is that it’s not only confined to meat. Vegetables love the treatment as does fish. I’ve given some ideas for those of you who don’t eat chicken in the variations section.
Serves 4
4 free-range chicken legs — the best you can afford
One medium-sized white onion thinly sliced into quarter moons
Four garlic cloves finely chopped
1 lemon
Four sprigs rosemary
Sea salt
4 large squares of baking parchment — around 12x12inch
Scrunch up the baking parchment squares which makes them easier to handle and then flatten them out again and lay them out on the counter. You’re going to layer up each of the ingredients on the parchment as they’re ready.
Heat some olive oil in a frying pan on a medium heat. Add the onions and a pinch of salt and fry slowly until they’re soft but not colored. Add the garlic for the last couple of minutes. Divide the onion and garlic mixture into 4 and pile onto the bottom of the baking parchment.
Clean out the frying pan, add more olive oil, and set on a medium-high heat. Take your chicken legs and season them with plenty of sea salt. Fry skin side down first. Wait until it’s golden under there then flip onto the other side and cook for another 3-4 minutes.
Add the chicken legs to the baking parchment—one per square.
Slice the lemon into rings and place one each on top of the chicken. Add a sprig of rosemary. Squeeze a little bit of lemon over each chicken leg.
Now it’s time to make your parcels. Scrunch up the baking parchment to seal the inside. It doesn’t have to be neat, it just has to be well sealed. I like to make mine into a pasty shape:
The parcels will take around 20-30 minutes in a 180C/350F oven. Because the insides steam, you can’t overdo the chicken especially so I would err on the side of caution with cooking times to ensure the chicken is cooked.
For the potatoes I peeled some all purpose potatoes then chopped them into roast potato-sized pieces. Boil them for around 5-7 minutes until soft but not overdone. Drain and leave them to air dry for around 10 minutes. Stick them in an oven-proof dish with olive oil and salt and shake.
These will take around 35-45 minutes in the same oven as the chicken so get them in about 15-20 minutes before the parcels. Shake them at 10 minute intervals to ensure even cooking.
I kept the carrots simple by peeling and chopping into battons, seasoning with salt, tossing in oil and roasting for around 30-40 minutes. They went in the oven about 10 minutes before the chicken.
When the parcels are ready, be careful when you open them—there will be a lot of steam!
Dietary requirements
This dish is naturally nut, dairy, and gluten-free.
Substitutions
The chicken
The chook can be swapped for an almost infinite number of other ingredients.
You could make fish en papillote. Take a salmon or white fish fillet and place it raw into the paper. Season with salt and pepper, wrap it up as above and cook in the oven. Fish will usually take less time than chicken to cook - around 15 minutes depending on the size of the fillet.
Vegetables en papillote are incredible and make a fine vegetarian alternative. I love all manner of soft vegetables cooked this way such as cherry tomatoes, strips of bell peppers, tender-stem broccoli, or slices of zucchini. You can also make carrots this way but I would boil them for 5 minutes on the stove first to reduce cooking time.
Most of these vegetables will be ready within 15-20 minutes of cooking. You can always peek into the parcels to check, then re-wrap and put them back in the oven if they’re not done.
The herbs and lemon
You can play with the aromatics depending on what you’re cooking in the paper. Parsley works really well as does oregano. If you don’t have fresh herbs, give it a go with dried.
You could change the dish entirely by adding different types of aromatics. You could make it Mexican with limes, fresh chilies and cilantro. How about Thai? Stick in mint, coriander, lemongrass, limes and even a dash of fish sauce.
The onions and garlic
I love the sweet, cooked-down onions and garlic in this but if you don’t have any, you could always omit. Or use shallots instead.
Use the chicken leg bones to make stock. Place them in a pan of heavily salted boiling water with a mixture of onions, carrots and celery—whatever of those you have to hand—and boil for 1-2 hours. I like to freeze my stock in individual portions to be used at leisure. You can either use tupperware or I prefer to use sealable sandwich bags to save on space.
There shouldn’t be too much call for leftovers for this recipe, especially when it comes to the parcels. But if someone really didn’t like the dish, you could strip the chicken and add it to this spicy Thai salad. Mix in the onions and garlic too if you’re so inclined.
If you have roasted too many potatoes, I love to make Mexican-inspired potatoes for lunch. Make a dressing from limes, chopped cilantro, and finely chopped red chillies. Chop the potatoes into small cubes and re-fry in a frying pan with a little olive oil on a medium-high heat until heated through and even more golden.
Add the dressing and serve.
Leftover carrots work wonders in a wrap for lunch. Toss them in some aromatic spices like Ras-Al-Hanout or cumin, reheat in a pan or microwave and place on a flour tortilla spread with hummous. You can always add greens, tomatoes, and / or cucumbers in the mix. Wrap up and devour.