Happy Valentine's Day, with seafood
An ideal dinner-for-two option, halibut (or your favorite fish) in parchment
It may be a bit late for your dinner plans tonight, but today seemed the ideal day to share one of my favorite techniques for cooking fish that’s ideally suited for a lovely dinner for two. Enclosing fish in a parchment-paper packet for baking (which might be referred to as ‘en papillote’ in some recipes) essentially creates mini steam ovens in which the fish cooks and stays moist.
When considering fish to use, keep in mind that this is a moist cooking method. Think about fish that you like steamed, and they’ll likely be good choices here. Ideally the pieces will be of a thickness about 1 to 1 1/2 inches to fit well in these packets and work well for the cooking time. If, after opening the packets, you find the fish to be a bit under-done, you can certainly pop them back in the oven for a few minutes.
There are many ingredients that can be added to these packets, though keep in mind that you don’t want to overstuff them, and that the cooking time is relatively short. Be sure what you add is in small enough pieces to cook evenly with the fish, or consider pre- or par-cooking added ingredients. I love leeks for their light oniony flavor and they cook rather quickly; if you’d like to use yellow or red onion, I recommend either very thinly sliced or perhaps sauteed in advance to accommodate the quick cooking time.
Some great options that come to mind (I suggest just a couple at a time), in addition to the leek-carrot combo below, include thinly sliced zucchini, lemon, green onion, radish, bell peppers, garlic, mushrooms; plenty of different herbs and seasonings can be added too. Again, with a light touch, just a thin layer over and/or under the piece of fish.
You can form the packets a bit in advance of baking, but not more than an hour or so, since the paper will soften. You can use foil instead of parchment paper, in which case simply fold over each open side twice to seal the packet in a rectangle. Easier to form, a bit less showy for presentation.
The prospect of folding the parchment paper ‘just right’ so that it seals well for baking may seem intimidating. And it may take a bit of practice. You can use a stand-in for your fish, such as a small bag of beans or lentils as I did in this video below, to get the hang of it before you do so for the recipe. But the steps are pretty easy and can go quickly after you get it down. (I’m surprised how loud the crinkling paper is!)
Halibut in Parchment with Leeks and Carrots
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme
1 teaspoon minced garlic
About 1/4 cup thinly sliced leek
About 1/4 cup thinly sliced carrot
2 halibut fillet pieces, about 6 ounces each and 1 inch thick
Kosher salt
Preheat the oven to 375°F. You need 2 pieces of parchment paper about 12x16 inches, an inch or two extra either side okay. Fold each piece in half crosswise, making roughly 8x12 inch rectangles.
In a small bowl, stir together the olive oil, thyme, and garlic. Add the leek and carrot and toss to evenly mix, doing your best to separate and evenly coat the slices.
Lay the pieces of parchment paper open on the counter, folded edge away from you. Set the halibut pieces about 1 inch below the fold line, in the center of the paper, and season lightly with salt. Spoon the leek and carrot mixture over the halibut pieces, it’s fine if some fall onto the paper. Be sure to scrape out all the flavorful oil onto the fish.
Make a series of small folds in the double layer of paper to enclose each packet of fish, beginning at one of the central folded edge. When you reach the other side of the folded edge, twist that last tail of paper once or twice to secure it. You end up with a packet shaped like a half heart. Set the packets on a rimmed baking sheet and bake for 12 minutes (a minute or 20 less for thinner fillets).
Carefully transfer the packets to individual plates and serve, careful to lean back a bit when opening the packets, to avoid the initial burst of steam.
Makes 2 servings
So lovely to halibut classicly this way!