Fish Pockets Recipes

HOW TO COOK: FISH IN PARCHMENT

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400°F.
• Place each fish fillet in the center of a 13-inch square of parchment paper. Season fish with salt and pepper and drizzle with oil.
• Arrange citrus slices down the length of each fillet, sprinkle with herbs and scatter additional ingredients, if using, over the top.
• Lift the parchment paper on 2 opposite sides to meet in the middle above fish. Tightly fold down paper until it reaches fish, crimping to seal.
• Roll up and crimp the ends to seal. (Be sure the paper is sealed snugly so that steam won't escape during cooking. Secure folds with toothpicks, if you like.)
• Place the packets on a rimmed baking sheet and roast until fish is just cooked through, 10 to 12 minutes for thin fillets like tilapia, and 14 to 16 minutes for thicker fillets like halibut and cod.
• Transfer packets to plates, carefully unwrap and serve.

TUSCAN FISH PACKETS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400°. In a bowl, combine beans, tomatoes, zucchini, onion, garlic, wine, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/8 teaspoons pepper., Rinse fish and pat dry. Place each fillet on an 18x12-inch piece of heavy-duty foil; season with remaining salt and pepper. Spoon bean mixture over fish; top with lemon slices. Fold foil around fish and crimp edges to seal. Transfer packets to a baking sheet., Bake until fish just begins to flake easily with a fork and vegetables are tender, 15-20 minutes. Be careful of escaping steam when opening packets.

ITALIAN FISH AND VEGGIE POCKETS

Steps:

• Special equipment: 4 large sheets of aluminum foil or parchment paper
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. In a small bowl mix together the lemon zest, salt, and pepper. Set aside.
• Lay out the 4 sheets of aluminum foil. Place 1/4 of the sugar snap peas, 1/4 of the yellow bell peppers, and 1/4 of the orange bell peppers on each sheet of foil. Over each pile of vegetables drizzle 2 tablespoons of white wine, 1 tablespoon of lemon juice, and 1 teaspoon of olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and gently toss.
• Top each pile of seasoned vegetables with a piece of fish. Sprinkle the fish with some of the reserved lemon zest mixture. Top each fish with 2 slices of lemon.
• Fold up the foil into an air-tight packet. Place the foil packets in the oven and bake for 15 to 18 minutes depending on the thickness of the fish. Sprinkle the fish with mint just before serving.

FISH IN FOIL PACKETS RECIPE (GRILLED OR BAKED)!

Steps:

• If grilling, preheat the grill to Medium-High.
• If baking, preheat the oven to 400F.
• Prepare 4 sheets of foil, put them on the counter and spray with non-stick cooking spray.
• Slice the butter into 8 pieces.
• Put each fish fillet in the middle of the foil sheet.
• Sprinkle the fish with salt and pepper.
• Put 2 pieces of butter on top of each fish fillet.
• Put the lemon slices on top of the fish.
• Fold the foil up from both ends to make closed foil packets.
• If grilling, put the foil packets on the grill, close the grill and grill for 7 minutes per side.
• If baking, put the foil packets on the baking sheet, put in the oven and bake for 15 minutes.
• Unwrap 1 foil packet to check for doneness (the fish should be opaque and flake easily with a fork). If not done, wrap it back and cook the fish for 5 more minutes.

FISH PACKETS WITH SNAP PEAS, TOMATOES, AND HERB BUTTER

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400°F. Mix butter, herbs, 1 tsp. salt, and 1/2 tsp. pepper in a small bowl.
• Fold parchment sheets in half and use scissors to cut halves into 4 large hearts. Unfold and place parchment hearts open on a work surface. Spoon 1 Tbsp. herb butter in the center of one half of each heart, then divide snap peas, tomatoes, and garlic evenly into small piles over butter. Lay fish over vegetables, then top with 1 Tbsp. herb butter; season each with 1/8 tsp. salt and a pinch of pepper. Fold parchment over and crimp edges tightly to form a sealed packet.
• Transfer packets to 2 large rimmed baking sheets, arranging in a single layer. Bake until just cooked through and a tester inserted through parchment slides through fish easily, about 13 minutes. Carefully cut open packets (steam will escape). Top with basil.
• Do Ahead
• Butter can be made 3 days ahead; cover and chill. Fish packets can be assembled 4 hours ahead; chill. Let sit at room temperature 15 minutes before cooking.

FISH AND RICE PACKETS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Cut four 12x15-inch sheets of parchment paper. Fold each in half widthwise and reopen.
• Mix rice, green olives, chicken broth, orange juice, orange zest, salt, and pepper together in a bowl.
• Spoon 3/4 cup of the rice mixture onto 1 side of each parchment rectangle, near the crease. Lay 1 piece of cod on top. Drizzle 1 teaspoon olive oil over fish; lay 1 orange slice on top.
• Fold empty half of parchment over cod and rice mixture; crimp edges together with overlapping folds to seal. Arrange packets close together on a sheet pan.
• Roast on the center rack of the preheated oven until cod flakes easily with a fork, 15 to 17 minutes. Unfold 1 edge of the parchment, being careful to avoid steam, and look inside to check doneness.
• Open packets carefully, being careful to avoid steam. Slide cod and rice mixture into bowls. Garnish with almonds and parsley.

EASY GRILLED FISH FILLET IN FOIL PACKETS

Steps:

• Place the fish in the center of the foil, season with salt and pepper and drizzle with olive oil.
• Place a slice of lemon on top of each piece of fish, then a sprig of herbs on each.
• Fold up the edges so that it's completely sealed and no steam will escape, creating a loose tent.
• Heat half of the grill (on one side) on high heat with the cover closed.
• When the grill is hot, place the foil packets on the side of the grill with the burners off (indirect heat) and close the grill.
• Depending on the thickness of your fish, cook 10 to 15 minutes, or until the fish is opaque and cooked through. My porgy fillets took about 12 minutes.

FISH POCKETS

Steps:

• Pull out a square of heavy-duty aluminum foil to make a loose packet around the fish and vegetables. Smear half a teaspoon of oil on the foil and set the fish in the middle.
• Bring a small pot of water to a boil and throw in the potato dice. Bring back to a boil and cook for 4 or 5 minutes, until the potatoes are just tender. Drain immediately.
• Pile the parboiled potato dice, scallions, tomato dice and pepper strips on the fish. Sprinkle with remaining oil and lemon juice, adding salt and pepper. Pull up the sides of the foil and seal. The packets may be prepared ahead of time and refrigerated, but bring them to room temperature before cooking.
• Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Place the packets on a cookie sheet in the oven and cook for 20 to 25 minutes. Serve immediately.

THE SOFTEST PITA POCKET RECIPE: THE OVEN METHOD

Steps:

• Combine the dry ingredients in a large bowl and whisk together. Set aside.
• In the bowl of a tabletop mixer that is fitted with the dough hook attachment, add all of the wet ingredients except for the olive oil. Allow the yeast to activate for 8 minutes. As soon as a puffy cloud forms at the top of the mixture, the yeast is active.
• Add the olive oil along with all of the dry ingredients and knead on low speed for 12 minutes.
• Lightly grease a large bowl with 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil and transfer the dough to the bowl. Toss to coat in oil and cover with plastic wrap. Set aside in the warmest room of your home to rise until doubled in volume. About 1 hour.
• Preheat the oven to 525 °F, 270 °C.
• Cut the dough into 10 equal portions.
• Lightly flour your work surface and roll each portion of dough out into about 6-7-inch circles. Keep their thickness even. Use as much flour as needed to roll them out evenly.
• Line 3 baking trays with parchment paper and sprinkle some semolina flour on top if desired.
• Place 3 pitas on each baking tray.
• Cover the dough with a clean kitchen towel and allow it to rise for 30 minutes.
• Bake the trays in the preheated oven for approximately 4 minutes or until the pockets are formed.
• Transfer the pitas to a plate and serve immediately.
• Leftover pitas can be stored in an airtight bag or container and kept in the freezer or the refrigerator until ready to use.