I told John recently that I wanted to cook more fish at home. We both love it and it’s supposed to be good for you, right? I guess when it’s not deep fried, fish can have some dietary benefits. Since stating this to each other we’ve cooked this citrus fish and I’ve made some salmon, which I love. The most obvious thing I love about preparing fish is that it takes no time to cook. Who wants to wait all day for dinner? I don’t.
Allow me to digress for a minute.
So lately, I feel like my life has been very jammed packed with stuff: meetings, errands, more meetings – you get the point. And as much as I love having a full schedule and grocery shopping, lately, I haven’t been able to do it all. So what does that mean? That means, in the last two weeks, I’ve incorporated grocery delivery instead of actually going to the grocery store. WHO AM I?
Good question. I’m someone who realized that sometimes I need help and it’s OK to admit that. Even though I find joy in going to the grocery store and marking off things on my list, enlisting some of these helpful apps is necessary sometimes. But even though I’ve been using help with grocery shopping lately, I still made time to go to the store for the main ingredient for this citrus fish. Here’s why: no matter how convenient these apps are for picking up or delivering groceries, I still only trust myself when picking out certain ingredients. Fish is one of them.
Citrus fish in parchment paper
For this grocery delivery I used Instacart and I’ll share more on that later. Right now, it’s time to get excited about this quick and easy dish. This dish was inspired by a recipe I read in my favorite magazine, Bon Appetit. I changed it (very slightly) and it was finger-licking good. Trust me.
The flavors in this fish are quite powerful. There’s garlic, orange, garlic and other delicious ingredients. I imagine you can use whatever type of fish you whatever type of fish you like – I used sea bass. Maybe cod or tilapia would work too? The process of cooking it in parchment paper isn’t new. In the culinary world, which I am not a part of, it may be referred to as cooking ‘en papillote’. Fancy, right?
This method is perfect for veggies or delicate foods like fish. It allows the steam to cook the food. You can read more about cooking en papillote on The Spruce Eats. Anyway, that’s what we did with the citrus fish and it turned out WONDERFUL. If you cook a lot of fish at home or would like to, start with this recipe. It’s simple and it packs some major flavor.
Citrus Fish in Parchment
Ingredients
- 5 cloves of garlic, grated
- 1 serrano chile, finely chopped
- 1 3" piece of ginger, peeled and grated
- 1 tablespoon EVOO
- 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
- 4 sea bass fillets
- Kosher salt
- Peel of 1/2 an orange, finely chopped
Instructions
- Heat oven to 450 degrees.
- Mix garlic, chile, ginger, olive oil and turmeric in a small bowl and make a paste. Set aside.
- Prep the fish: place fish on a paper towel and pat dry. Season with salt. Then spread half of the paste on one side of the fish.
- Put some parchment paper down on your work station and place the fish on it, paste side down. Make sure to use enough parchment paper so you can wrap it all up like a pouch. Spread the remaining paste on the fish.
- Fold over the sides of the parchment paper (so it's covered and looks like a pouch) then chill for 30 minutes.
- Transfer fish to a baking sheet then place in the oven; cook for 10-12 minutes. Then turn the oven off and let it sit for another minute. Be careful when you open the pouch - the steam can burn you.
- Serve with your choice of rice and your favorite veggie.
