Baked in Parchment

This is an absolutely wonderful way to cook fish with a deeply flavored Mediterranean vibe. This is based on a recipe by Ellie Krieger that I found in the Washington Post newspaper. Her version is with flounder and olives. I made mine with red snapper and no olives, but I did include capers. I also replaced the cherry tomatoes with large-ish chunks of Black Krim tomatoes from my garden. I found out that I didn't have any green beans, so I used red and yellow pepper strips. As you can see, the recipe is a long way from where it started.

Baking foods in parchment paper, or 'en papillote' as the French say, is a lot of fun and makes for easy clean up. You actually serve the dish in its paper packet in order to capture all the juices. When you are finished eating, the paper gets tossed and there are no pots or pans to wash up. Perhaps the best reason to cook this way is that the fish stays really moist. Don't forget to have some crusty bread on hand to sop up those captured juices!

finished fish surrounded by packet and juices

Snapper with Peppers and Capers en Papillote
Based on a recipe by Ellie Krieger in the Washington Post
Serves 4

1 medium lemon
2 tablespoons capers, drained and chopped
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1 clove garlic, minced or finely grated
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper, divided
1/2 cup red and yellow pepper strips, with no stem or seeds or ribs
1 cup fresh tomato, cut into bite sized chunks
four (4-5 oz each) fillets of snapper (could also use flounder or sole)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup thinly sliced red onion from onion that has been cut in half
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 cup lightly packed fresh parsley leaves (optional)

Place the oven rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 425 degrees F.

Zest the lemon into a small bowl. Set zested lemon aside. To the small bowl add the chopped capers, garlic, thyme and 1/4 teaspoon of the pepper. Stir to combine. Set aside.

Cut the zested lemon in half. Capture the juice from one half in a small bowl. Cut the other half into wedges for garnish.

Place 4 sheets of parchment paper (12 x 18-inches) on a flat work surface. Fold each sheet in half  then open flat. Work in batches if needed if you don't have enough counter space.

fish over peppers and tomatoes

lemon zest-caper mixture over fish

On each piece of parchment, near the fold, place 1/4 of the red pepper strips. Then arrange the tomatoes on top. Sprinkle with the salt and the remaining 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Place a fillet of fish on top of the tomatoes then top each piece of fish with 1/4 or the caper mixture. Make sure the caper mixture runs along the whole piece of fish. Place 1/4 of the onion slices on top of each dressed fillet, then drizzle each piece with 1 1/2 teaspoon olive oil and 1 teaspoon of the lemon juice.

One at a time, take the parchment and fold the empty half over the top of the fish and roll the edges, crimping to seal tightly. Make sure to leave a little room around the fish for expansion in the oven.

Place the packets on a large, rimmed baking sheet and bake for 12 minutes, or until the fish is cooked through.

Open each packet, being careful to avoid the steam, and serve on plates in the packet, or, if desired, transfer the packet contents to a plate along with the juices. Garnish with parsley (optional) and the lemon wedges.