What could be easier than combining beautiful, seasonal ingredients in a parchment bag and roasting them together as the flavors marry to create the perfect dish. Fantastic for a light and flavorful dinner any night of the week.
Season fish with half of the salt, and the pepper to taste.
In a medium bowl, mix tomatoes, thyme, lemon zest, garlic, shallots, capers, olive oil, wine and vinegar with the remaining half of salt, and pepper.
Tear off two 15″ x 12″large sheets of parchment paper; arrange sheets vertically and place fish just below the center on each sheet. Place half of the tomato mixture on top of each piece of fish, leaving any juices at the bottom of the bowl. Fold paper over to make the top and bottom corners meet. Beginning with the left corner, fold up 1″, overlapping sections to seal in the contents, and ending with the right corner. Fold each corner under. Finished pouches should look like half moons. Repeat with the other pouch and place on a large sheet pan. If available, you may also use parchment bags and just fold the open end closed.
Bake for 12–14 minutes for 1″ thick fillets or until pouches make a strong sizzling sound. Adjust cooking time by a couple of minutes for thinner or thicker fillets. Remove from the oven either serve immediately, placing pouches in shallow bowls on plates. Allowing guests to carefully unwrap or cut into their own portions, carefully avoiding direct contact with hot steam or remove from bag and plate with vegetables on top of the fish and garnish with additional fresh basil and serve with lemon wedges.
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 12 minutes
Total Time: 42 minutes
Ingredients
- 2 (4-ounces each) fresh boned Alaskan halibut fillets, blotted dry
- 1/4 teaspoon salt (half on the fish, half on the vegetables)
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus extra for the fish
- 2 tablespoons of picked thyme leaves, plus a few sprigs for garnish
- 3/4 cup halved yellow cherry tomatoes
- 3/4 cup halved yellow cherry tomatoes
- 2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
- 1 teaspoon capers or caper berries, chopped
- 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
- a splash of white wine (optional)
- 1 small shallot, thinly sliced
- 2 lemon wedges
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 °F (200 °C, or gas mark 6).
- Season fish with half of the salt, and the pepper to taste.
- In a medium bowl, mix tomatoes, thyme, lemon zest, garlic, shallots, capers, olive oil, wine and vinegar with the remaining half of salt, and pepper.
- Tear off two 15″ x 12″large sheets of parchment paper; arrange sheets vertically and place fish just below the center on each sheet.
- Place half of the tomato mixture on top of each piece of fish, leaving any juices at the bottom of the bowl. Fold paper over to make the top and bottom corners meet. Beginning with the left corner, fold up 1″, overlapping sections to seal in the contents, and ending with the right corner. Fold each corner under. Finished pouches should look like half moons. Repeat with the other pouch and place on a large sheet pan. If available, you may also use parchment bags and just fold the open end closed.
- Bake for 12–14 minutes for 1″ thick fillets or until pouches make a strong sizzling sound. Adjust cooking time by a couple of minutes for thinner or thicker fillets.
- Remove from the oven either serve immediately, placing pouches in shallow bowls on plates. Allowing guests to carefully unwrap or cut into their own portions, carefully avoiding direct contact with hot steam or remove from bag and plate with vegetables on top of the fish and garnish with additional fresh basil and serve with lemon wedges.
