En Papillote: The Silly Way

Dear Columnist Me,
You are beginning to dominate Blogger Me and Blogger Me does not appreciate it. Not one bit, she doesn't. You see, Blogger Me used to think that by being silly, she would be able to entertain the masses all the while discussing food. Now that you've come into the picture, Blogger Me cannot find the inspiration to write frivolously! You've started attending workshops or whatever you call it and you write about the seriousness of food and how Egypt has to start picking up its pace. I don't understand why you can't just come right out and say that fine dining in Egypt sucks. Instead, you writing about how Egypt is "lacking" and how we should all "embrace" our heritage and "open our eyes" to the suckiness of the situation. Oh right, you don't use the word suckiness because it's not right, right? And what's up with this pretentiousness of taking one photo of the final meal and that's it? Have you forgotten that there are people who still need step-by-step photos or are just bored enough to want step-by-step photos to waste their time? How inconsiderate of you to ignore the needs of the needy and the bored! Tsk, tsk. Who do you think you are? Anna Sui? All colorful and pretty but not sharing the actual designs? Blogger Me is calling you out! Selfish, selfish, selfish and not silly at all, although you try to be sometimes. I'll give you that. All we're asking, Columnist Me, is to be a little considerate and show a little respect to your fore-mother. Blogger Me shall be waiting patiently for your apology. After all, you did try to kill the silly. In the meantime, Blogger Me shall one-up you and post step-by-step photos to your fancy schmancy sole en papillote. That should teach you a lesson!        
Sincerely silly,
Blogger Me's Lawyer

Celery-Scallion Sole en Papillote

(Individual servings)
1 fillet of white fish (any kind of white fish will do)
1 small tomato, finely diced
2 tablespoons of finely chopped celery
3 tablespoons of thinly sliced scallions
2 small red chili peppers or ½ a large green chili pepper, sliced
1 ½ teaspoons of lemon zest
salt and pepper to taste
olive oil to drizzle

For a basic dukkah:
50 grams of coriander seeds
10 grams of cumin seeds
50 grams of sesame seeds
1 teaspoon of salt
½ teaspoon of black pepper

Fish:
Preheat your oven to 190 degrees Celsius. Cut a large square sheet of baking paper. Add the the tomatoes and half the scallions. Pat dry your fish and place on top of your initial mixture. Scatter the celery, lemon zest, chilli and the rest of the scallions then season with salt and pepper. Fold the paper in half and double fold all around to seal in the fish. It should look like a pastry case. Place the parcel on a baking sheet and bake for 10-12 minutes for a smaller fillet or 15-20 minutes depending on your thickness. Serve in the parchment paper by snipping the top open at the table. Drizzle the fish with olive oil and sprinkle with dukkah.

Dukkah:
Toast the coriander and cumin seeds in a hot dry pan until fragrant then cool. Toast the sesame seeds separately and cool. Grind the coriander and cumin together then add the sesame seeds, salt and pepper. To be served with the fish as a condiment alongside the olive oil. 

If you'd like to read the column with this recipe, minus the silliness, visit The Daily News Egypt.