Hake with Herb Butter en Papillote

Cooking anything en papillote is both dramatic and practical. The drama comes from the presentation: Individual parchment-wrapped packets, in this case stuffed with pearly hake fillets dotted with herb butter and nestled in spinach, are brought to the table for your guests to open. When they do, fragrant, herby steam pours forth—white and heady and scenting the air. It’s very impressive. The practical part is that since you throw away the parchment afterward, there’s not a lot of cleanup.Since baby spinach can turn mushy, try to use mature, crinkly spinach leaves here. Or use baby kale, which has a sturdier and more robust texture. Thinking Ahead Herb butter: You can make the butter up to 1 week ahead and store it, wrapped in plastic wrap, in the refrigerator. You can also freeze it for up to 3 months. Packets: You can fill and seal the packets up to an hour before baking. Store them in the refrigerator.

Good

% Daily Values based on a 2,000 calorie diet

Step 1

Heat the oven to 450°F.

Step 2

In a small bowl, use a fork to mash together the butter, herbs, shallot, lemon juice, salt, several grinds of black pepper, and the nutmeg until the butter has absorbed the lemon juice.

Step 3

Season the fish with salt and pepper. Cut 4 large sheets of parchment paper, each about 12 × 15 inches. Place each fillet on a parchment sheet. Top each fillet with a quarter of the butter mixture and a quarter of the spinach leaves. Season the spinach lightly with salt and pepper.

Step 4

Fold the parchment over the fish and spinach. Crimp and tightly fold the edges of the parchment to create a sealed packet. (It doesn’t matter exactly how you crimp or fold the parchment—the aim is just to seal the packet. Sometimes I staple the packets closed instead of folding them, which is easier if not quite as elegant.)

Step 5

Arrange the packets on two large rimmed baking sheets and bake for 8 to 12 minutes, depending on the thickness of the fish. You can check one for doneness by opening a corner of the packet and poking the fish with a fork (it should slide in easily)—then make sure to serve that opened packet to yourself. Transfer the packets to serving plates. Allow your guests to tear or cut open the parchment themselves (watching out for a sudden waft of steam), and serve the lemon wedges and flaky sea salt on the side.