From Scratch

Do we eat enough fish? Consider this. The cod fillet in the photograph is more cod than the average American eats in an entire year. It was a 12-ounce fillet before cooking; Americans ate an average of just over half a pound each in 2006, the most recent year posted at All About Seafood.

In 2001, shrimp supplanted canned tuna as our most-eaten seafood and the gap between them grows each year, most recently 4.4 pounds of shrimp per capita and 2.9 pounds of tuna. We’re told to eat more fish, especially those rich in omega-3 fatty acids, but we’re also told not to eat too much for fear of toxins. The Mayo Clinic’s current recommendations are for 6 - 12 ounces per week (that fillet fed two people), with more specific advice for children and women who are or could become pregnant.

But I know people who never eat fish or eat it only in restaurants. They tell me it’s hard to cook, which it’s not. The rule of thumb is 10 minutes per inch of thickness. This easy recipe uses fillets of about one inch but since they’re wrapped in parchment paper, they need to bake a little longer. The parchment not only ensures a moist piece of fish — it’s so unappealing when cooked till it’s dry as a bone — it eliminates cleanup. I’m all for that.

The recipe is from Epicurious and appeared recently in the Healthy Dinners widget in my sidebar. I had to deviate from the original, after forgetting to buy orange juice or even an orange and after finding tarragon that had seen better days. I used lemon juice and dried tarragon and the results were delicious. Their recipe also bakes asparagus inside each packet, a handy mealtime shortcut, and you can find the original here.

A note about fillets — it’s almost impossible to find them small enough for individual portions and if I’d been serving guests I would have halved them so everyone could have a packet to open. It’s also rare to find them evenly thick, so to ensure even cooking I tuck under the thin end to create the approximate thickness, as shown in the clickable thumbnail here.

Fish Fillets in Parchment Packets

Adapted from Epicurious.com

4 squares parchment paper, about 15″
4 firm fish fillets, 5 - 6 ounces each and about 1″ thick (choose cod, halibut, tilapia, etc.)
4 pieces of butter, about 1 tsp each
butter for the paper
4 TB orange juice (or lemon)
coarse salt and fresh-ground pepper
12 fresh tarragon leaves (or about 2 tsp dried)

Set a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 400F/205C/Gas 6. Have a rimmed baking sheet on hand.

For each packet, butter the center of the parchment paper and place the fillet on top. Put one piece of butter on the fillet, pour on 1 TB juice, season to taste with salt and pepper and place 3 tarragon leaves on top or sprinkle with dried tarragon.

Bring up the ends of the parchment and fold over securely, crimping the edges to seal. 

Transfer packets to the baking sheet. Bake for 17 minutes.

Slide packets onto plates and serve.

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