Good things come in parchment packages.

A lot of people are afraid to cook fish because they think it's difficult (or easy to mess up, as I definitely thought before). While it's true that you can overcook fish just as you can overcook chicken or any other protein, a little practice getting familiar with it is all you need. As with other foods, I find that the simplest preparations are often the most delicious.

There's a style of cooking called en papillote,which is just a fancy way of saying, "in parchment," which simply means you throw everything into a parchment packet and bake it. It's kind of a "one-pot-dish" mentality, where everything that goes into the packet is delicious when it comes out of the oven. The liquid at the bottom of this packet was so delicious, I wish I had a few other packets to open up and drink like soup. The cook time is pretty fast, and there are no messy pots and pans to clean up after if you plan ahead a little and line your baking sheet with foil.

This particular recipe was inspired by Giada de Laurentiis (unfortunately, I had no whole branzino available; I also omitted the pancetta, but I've made it both ways and loved both). You can use this preparation for all sorts of different flavor profiles. My one tip is to ensure you've sealed the parchment packet securely: I recommend using a long rectangle, folding it in half (so you can minimize the seams that can leak), then roll in the edges as tightly as possible (use small folds, about 1/4" should do the trick). I served my fish with wild rice and some garlic-sautéed Swiss chard...delicious.

 

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Lemon-Fennel Halibut en Papillote
Serves 2

2 6-oz halibut fillets (you can use any fish such as sea bass or salmon -- halibut was what I had on hand)
1 lemon
1 small bulb fennel
6-8 branches of thyme
salt
pepper
4-6 T white wine (I used Sauvignon Blanc)

Preheat oven to 400°F. Line a large baking sheet with foil. Pat fish fillets with paper towels to dry, then season with salt and pepper.

Zest lemon, then slice into 1/4"-1/8" slices, discarding the two ends. Cut off the fennel branches and very bottom "stem" (just the very end -- you want to keep the bulb together when you slice them). Break off a handful of the green fennel fronds (just the part that looks like dill) and chop finely. Slice fennel into 1/4" slices.

Create your packets: I used about 8" of parchment off the roll, which was sufficient for my fillets. Fold the packet in half, creating a packet about 7" x 7" once you've rolled the edges. Stack the lemon and fennel slices on top of the seasoned fish fillets, alternating and overlapping slightly, until you've covered the fish. Sprinkle half the lemon zest, fennel fronds, and thyme on top of each piece, and slide the whole thing into its parchment packet. Carefully pour about 2-3 T of white wine into the packets, and tilt the packet as you seal the final edge.

Bake for 12-15 minutes, then cut open the parchment and serve, drizzling the broth over the plate.