A Different Kind of Emotional Eating

The only thing better than a delicious meal is an easy one, which is why I adore papillotes, the French method of cooking fish and vegetables in little foil pouches. I found out about papillotes in one of the best books I’ve read in a long time: Lunch in Paris, by Elizabeth Bard. I discovered Elizabeth’s book in my “to-be-considered” pile at work, and immediately fell in love with it (I wonder why - Paris? Food? It’s a pretty easy sell). Elizabeth, a native New Yorker, went to Paris for a weekend visit, became enamored with a Frenchman and never returned. It’s every single girl’s fantasy come true. Of course, my fantasy is to move to Paris and spend all my free time at the markets sampling bread, cheese and chocolate. I don’t think it’s a lot to ask. After reading Lunch in Paris, I commissioned Elizabeth to write an essay for Harper’s Bazaar about emotional eating; the good, the bad and the ugly. Read it here. Elizabeth obtained a healthier relationship with food when she moved to France. As she writes in her essay, Food and Loathing, “[In France], I discovered a different kind of emotional eating, a happy strain resulting from tarts so gorgeous that they can genuinely make your day and meals lingered over with friends or lovers. I'd go so far as to say that in France, all eating is emotional. It's a celebration -- ritual, not fuel. The French don't worry about food. They enjoy it.” I want this blog to convey the same sense of pleasure Elizabeth feels when she eats in France. The French may have the upper hand when it comes to cooking, but that doesn’t mean the rest of us can’t derive the same joy out of creating a beautiful meal. And if it takes 15 minutes and doesn’t make a mess, well, what could be better than that? Like all French cooking, this recipe for baked fish is simple, elegant and delicious. It’s cooked in a foil pouch so it's a no-fuss-no-muss sort of dish (and those are the very best kind). The fish makes its own gorgeous sauce, which lightly seasons whatever vegetables you throw in with it. When you take the pouch out of the oven and cut a slit through its center, your kitchen will be filled with an incredible steamy aroma. While this meal will be on your plate in fifteen minutes, really try to savor it. Turn off the TV, light a candle and linger. How French.



Tilapia and Tomatoes Baked in Foil
Inspired by Truite en Papillotes from Lunch in Paris, by Elizabeth Bard.

As Elizabeth notes in her book, this recipe is just a starting point. I substituted her whole trout and cherry tomatoes with Tilapia filets, breadcrumbs and vine-ripened Roma tomatoes. You can truly use any type of fish, toppings and vegetables you like: from cod with miso and ginger to salmon with lemon juice, zucchini and Herbes de Provence (a mixture of dried herbs from the south of France. Buy them if you don’t have them. You will use them on everything).

Ingredients
2 Tilapia filets de-boned and rinsed
Coarse sea salt
Freshly ground pepper
Two ripe Roma tomatoes, one per filet
Drizzle of olive oil
Juice of one lemon
Sprinkle of breadcrumbs
Sprinkle of Herbes de Provence

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Rinse the fish and lay each one on a separate piece of aluminum foil. You’ll need to seal the edges later, so leave a good four inches of foil on each end of the fish. Sprinkle sea salt, pepper and breadcrumbs over each filet. Cut tomatoes, and arrange them around the filets. Drizzle fish and tomatoes with olive oil and lemon juice, and sprinkle some Herbes de Provence over everything for good measure. Cover each fish with a second length of foil and carefully fold the edges together to form a neat little pouch. Transfer to a baking sheet and bake for fifteen minutes. Your papillotes will puff with steam.

Take out of the oven and carefully pierce each papillote with a knife to release the steam. Serve each Tilapia filet with a lemon wedge. Roasted asparagus and/or wild rice makes a nice side dish.

Serves 2.