Wednesday, August 11, 2010

Perfect Summer Fish Dish

I recently was out to dinner with some friends and had the most delicious fish dish which inspired me to create tonight's dinner. The fish was baked in parchment paper over Israeli-style couscous and served straight out of the oven. It was so moist and flavorful I was skeptical that I could create the same amazing taste. Alas, I underestimate myself! I adapted my recipe from a bunch of similar ones I found on the foodnetwork's website so that I could use ingredients I already had in my kitchen. While I don't think I got the couscous part exactly right, the fish was absolutely delicious. Just like all of the recipes I've been posting, I found this one to be pretty easy. One other item to note - different fish will work in this one, you might just have to adjust the baking time depending on the thickness of your filet. I used tilapia, but halibut, red snapper, trout, etc would all work with this recipe.

Fish Baked in Parchment Paper
1 cup Israeli couscous
1 pound Tilapia (or halibut, red snapper, etc)
1 tsp salt for fish plus a pinch or 2 for the couscous
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
small bunch fresh oregano
1 whole lemon, thinly sliced
1 medium green onion, sliced
1/2 garlic scape, sliced
a bunch of grape tomatoes, halved
1/2 cup white wine
parchment paper

--> Oven to 400 F.
--> Rinse couscous in a mesh strainer under cold water, lay out on parchment paper, sprinkle with salt and set aside.
-->Take a large sheet of parchment paper (~15x48 inches), fold in half and lay on baking sheet. Unfold and lay the fish diagonally on the pan on top of 1 layer of parchment paper. Salt and pepper the fish on both sides. Place oregano on top of the fish with lemon slices, garlic, and onion sprinkled over the top. Arrange the couscous next to the fish on all sides, then lay the tomatoes around the outside of the couscous (almost forming a wall). Pour the wine over the fish and then close up the parchment paper. You want to seal the packet almost air tight - I folded over the edges and then actually used a stapler to keep them together.
--> Bake for 20-30 min depending on the thickness of your fish. Halibut steaks will take closer to 30 min while my tilapia was ready in 20. Enjoy!

2 comments:

  1. How did you know it was ready in 20 when it's sealed in the parchment?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Jill - I guessed, and I was right!

    ReplyDelete