There are many ingredients in the name of this dish that, stand alone, are considered foods-to-live-by in Paris. Garlic, Cream, Pastry… Need I say that this is one of the richer lunches that we amateur chefs concocted in Chef Noémie’s cooking school in the fashionable 17th arrondissement. All was delicate before the cream came along: we even used kitchen tweezers to de-bone the fillets, very intricate work indeed. You can ask to have most of the bones removed at your poissonnerie, but going over them with your own tweezers makes the dining experience infinitely more pleasant.

Ingredients for 6: 12 red mullet fillets, 100g garlic cloves, 160g liquid cream, 40g milk, 2g salt, filo pastry, olive oil, salt, pepper

Use a kitchen tweezer to remove tiny bones

Sandwich the garlic cream with two fish fillets

We offset the dish with a light cherry tomato accompaniment

Witness: A homme in the pink kitchen. Learning to cook exquisite meals alongside his chic Parisian wife, no less.

Wrap the fillets in filo like a hard candy, using kitchen string to tie the ends.

In Paris, plating is always an art form.

A garnish for color.

Et voila!

Directions:

Preheat oven to 360 degrees F. Prepare the garlic cream by bringing the milk and cream to a boil. Add the garlic cloves, lower the heat, and cook for 20 minutes. Mix in a food mill until smooth and reserve.

Prepare fish fillets by removing bones and season with salt and pepper.

Roll out filo pastry and cut in squares. Place a red mullet fillet skin-side down in the center. Place a tablespoon of garlic cream on the fillet and sandwich it with the second fillet, skin-side up. Wrap the fish in the filo pastry and shape like a candy. Close both ends using kitchen string and tie as you would with ribbon. Brush pastry with olive oil. Cook in the oven for 7-8 minutes.

Serve immediately. Accompany the fish with the garlic cream and with an eggplant or zucchini puree. We complimented the rich filo with sweet and light cherry tomatoes sauteed in olive oil.

Recipe by Noémie Fournier of Les Secrets Gourmands de Noémie