Mackerel en Papillote with Tarragon and Caper Sauce

Name: Mackerel en Papillote with Tarragon and Caper Sauce
Ingredients: 1–2 bay leaves per fish; 2–3 teaspoons capers – roughly chopped; 1 oz butter (25 g); butter; about 1 tablespoon finely chopped tarragon; a little cream or top of the milk; 1 teaspoon French mustard; 1 fairly small mackerel per person – gutted but with heads left on; salt, black pepper; 1 egg yolk – beaten lightly; 1 oz cornflour (25 g); ¾ pint milk (425 ml)

Preparation info

Difficulty
Medium

Appears in

A Taste of Dreams

By Josceline Dimbleby

Published 1976

About

Baking individual fish wrapped in their own little paper parcels keeps in all the flavour and juices and looks exciting. Mackerel has remained comparatively cheap and being an oily fish is very nutritious, moist textured and full of flavour. If you can get fresh tarragon for the sauce it makes a lot of difference but dried will do.

Ingredients

1 fairly small mackerel per person – gutted but with heads left on
1–2 bay leaves per fish
butter

Fish course
Pescatarian
Gluten-free

Method

Cut a piece of greaseproof paper to wrap each fish up in and butter the paper. Put the bay leaves inside the fish where they have been gutted. Wrap each fish up in paper and twist the ends to seal. Bake on a baking sheet or tray in the centre of the oven at Gas 5 (375°F/190°C) for