If I had to pick one go to, no fail recipe that I can rely on 100% of the time, it’s cooking fish in parchment paper. It’s one recipe I’ve never screwed up, because it’s literally disaster-proof.
Plus, it’s a great dinner party dish. Guests love opening up their individual parchment packets to find freshly steamed pieces of fish along with the appropriate accoutrements. I’m a big fan of rice, vegetables, lemons, tomatoes – but you can really choose just about anything.
The following recipes are both Gourmet recipes (RIP). I’ve made the Sea Bass in Papillote (from Gourmet 2007) over a dozen times, and I’ve only made the Sake steamed Sea Bass (from Gourmet 2009) once. But it was love at first taste! Both recipes call for Sea Bass, but I’ve substituted both halibut and Mahi Mahi.
Sea Bass in Papillote (Gourmet 2007)
Sake Sea Bass in Parchment (Gourmet 2009)
These are not only great weeknight suppers, but also great when you’re cooking for a larger group as the parchment packets can be created in advance and stored in the refrigerator until dinner time.
* these pictures are obviously not my amateur photography work, but I’ll post my own the next time I make these dishes.
