It’s been hard for me to access the kind of halcyon relaxation I’ve longed for this summer – think poolside loungers, pitchers of iced drinks and stacks of trashy novels. But if relaxation has felt elusive, then at least my cooking hasn’t added more stress.
Given the record-breaking temperatures we've had over the past few months, I’ve been eating a lot of no-cooking dishes – salads, wraps, aguachile, you name it. But as the thermostat dipped recently, I found I could once again bear the idea of turning on the oven for 10 minutes – just long enough to cook this dish of Sicilian pesto cod and white beans en papillote.
En papillote (French for “in paper”) is one of those brilliant techniques that’s so easy it almost feels like cheating. Simply add whatever contents you want to a large piece of baking paper, fold up all the edges until you’ve made a sealed pouch and roast it for just a short time. There’s no mess, no hassle, and very little time to wait until dinner is served.
I was inspired to make this dish after encountering Barraco’s Fior di Bianco. Hailing from Sicily, and made with Grillo grapes, plus a touch of Catarratto and Zibibbo, this perfumed white wine spends a day on its skins for richness and features a distinctively nutty, salty finish. That brought to mind pesto alla trapanese, which originates from Trapani in western Sicily. It differs from the Genoan version we all know by using almonds rather than pine nuts, plus a good dose of perfectly-in-season tomatoes. Mint adds herbal freshness and Pecorino Romano a saliva-inducing saltiness. Once made, I mixed the pesto with a base of creamy, jarred white beans, threw in some roasted red peppers for colour and acidic bite, and topped it with a cod fillet, before sealing it all up in my paper pouch.
The result is a dish that feels perfectly summery and almost restaurant-worthy, and which absolutely justifies turning on the oven. Alongside, the wine becomes even more mineral and refreshing, and evokes a briny splash in the Mediterranean. It’s not quite a beach holiday, but it’s about as close as I’m going to get this year.
Sicilian Pesto Cod and White Beans en Papillote
Pesto adapted from Serious Eats
Serves 4
For the pesto:
100g blanched almonds
450g vine-on or plum tomatoes
2 cloves garlic
30g basil leaves
10g mint leaves
100g Pecorino Romano, finely grated
60ml extra-virgin olive oil
Pinch caster sugar
Fine sea salt, to taste
For the dish:
2 570g jars white beans (I like Bold Bean Co)
1 450g jar roasted red peppers (I like Karyatis)
4 fillets cod
Fine sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Extra-virgin olive oil
Fresh oregano leaves, to garnish
1-2 lemons
1. First, make the pesto. Add the blanched almonds to a dry frying pan and place over medium-low heat. Toast, tossing frequently, for roughly 5 minutes, or until evenly browned and fragrant. Set aside and leave to cool.
2. Next, blanch the tomatoes. Prepare a saucepan of boiling water and a large bowl of ice water. Using a paring knife, slit a shallow X into the bottom of each tomato. Add to the pan; cook for 1-2 minutes, or just until you see their skin starting to peel. Immediately transfer to the ice bath using a slotted spoon. Once cooled, remove the skins, then core, deseed and roughly chop.
3. To a food processor, add 60g of the almonds (reserving the remaining 40g as a garnish) and the garlic cloves. Pulse until finely chopped. Next, add the tomatoes, basil, mint and grated Pecorino-Romano. Run on high until uniform but not too smooth; scrape down the sides with a spatula if needed. With the motor on low, drizzle in the extra-virgin olive oil until just incorporated. Add salt and sugar to taste.
4. Preheat the oven to 200°C, arranging the shelves to ensure you can fit in two large trays at the same time.
5. Prepare the remaining components. Drain the jars of beans and rinse. Transfer to a large bowl and add a good portion of the pesto (you may have some left over), stirring with a spatula to mix. Next, drain the roasted red peppers and thinly slice. Evenly season each cod fillet with fine sea salt.
6. To prepare your papillote pouches, tear a large sheet of baking paper and arrange with the short end facing you. On the lower third of the sheet (be sure to leave a several-inch margin around the edges), mound a quarter of the beans into a small circle. Top with a quarter of the red pepper slices and place a cod fillet on top. Season with freshly ground black pepper and drizzle over a little extra-virgin olive oil. Garnish with fresh oregano leaves, if preferred.
7. To form the pouch, fold the top of the paper down over the fish and beans. Crimp and fold the edges on all three open sides until tightly sealed around the fish. Transfer the parcel to a large baking tray. Repeat with the remaining three parcels, dividing them between two baking trays.
8. Transfer to the oven and cook for 10-12 minutes (go longer if you have larger fillets of cod). Remove from the oven and leave to stem in the parcels for another minute or two.
9. To serve, roughly chop the reserved almonds. Open each parcel – be careful of steam – and transfer the contents to a plate or bowl. Squeeze over lemon juice and sprinkle over the chopped almonds to garnish. Serve.
Claire M Bullen is a professional food and travel writer and all-around lover of tasty things. You can follow her at @clairembullen. For more recipes like this, sign up to our Natural Wine Killers wine subscription - you'll receive Claire's recipe and food pairings plus expert tasting notes for three amazing wines like this one every month (or two, if you choose our bi-monthly option).
