Parchment Packet Fish Dinners 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.

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.

FISH & VEGETABLE PACKETS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 450°. In a small bowl, combine carrots, snow peas and green onions. Cut parchment paper or heavy-duty foil into four 18x12-in. pieces; place a fish fillet off center on each. Drizzle with lemon juice and top with carrot mixture. Sprinkle with seasonings; dot with butter., Fold parchment paper over fish. Bring edges of paper together on all sides and crimp to seal, forming packets. Place on baking sheets., Bake 10-15 minutes or until fish just begins to flake easily with a fork. Open packets carefully to allow steam to escape.

PARCHMENT WRAPPED FISH

Steps:

• Preheat an oven to 475 degrees F.
• Cut cooking parchment paper into 6 rectangles measuring 10 by 20 inches each.
• Using a pastry brush, lightly brush one side of each sheet with the butter or oil, or coat with non-stick spray.
• Then fold each rectangle in half to form a square with the greased sides facing each other.
• Set aside.
• If using fresh corn, cut the kernels from the cobs and measure out 1 cup.
• Add the corn (or 1 cup cooked frozen or canned corn) to a large bowl along with the carrots, onions, sweet peppers, fresh chiles and cilantro.
• Open the greased parchment paper and sprinkle half the vegetable mixture, dividing evenly, over one half of each of the parchment rectangles.
• Leave at least a 2 inch border between the vegetable and the edges of the paper.
• Rinse the fish under cold running water and dry with paper towels.
• Place a piece of fish on top of the vegetables on each of the 6 pieces of parchment.
• In a small bowl, mix together the tequila and the lime juice.
• Spoon 2 tablespoons of the tequila mixture over each piece of fish.
• Drizzle each piece of fish with about 1 1/2 tsp.
• of the melted butter and season with salt and the ground ancho or other chile powder.
• Place a slice of lime on each pice of fish, and scatter the remaining vegetables evenly over each of the 6 pieces.
• Refold the parchment paper in half over the fish and vegetable mixture and seal the packets securely by making a series of tight, overlapping folds (about 1 inch folded over) along the edges of each side to form a square.
• Place the packets on a baking sheet and bake until the packets puff up, about 10 minuts.
• Transfer the packets to warm plates, garnish with cilatro leaves, and serve immediately, allowing each to open his or her own packet.
• It is a good idea to have the entire remainder of the meal ready so the packets can go directly from the oven to the table and the meal can begin.
• Be awre that with this cooking method you are unable to test the fisih to see if it is donw.
• You have to rely on judging the cooking time based on minutes per inch of thickness.
• Note that soft-fleshed fish does not work well with this recipe because it cooks too soon.