Fish Parcel is a quick and easy meal option

With all the fantastic fresh fish available, be it through your local fishmonger or caught yourself, this week I am showing you an alternative to deep fried or panfried fish - my recipe is for a lovely delicate Fish en Papillote. This is a lovely light summery dish whereby the fish and vegetables are enclosed in a parchment parcel before being cooked in the oven. As they cook the parcel fills with steam that infuse the flavours of the fish with the seasoning and vegetables. Fish is ideal for this recipe, as it comes out moist and flaky, definitely not dry – and the vegetables still are cooked al- dente. Although I have used Cod in this recipe, its suitable for fish such as Salmon, Haddock, Hake, Coley or monkfish, it’s also a lovely way to cook prawns and seafood. As a tip I sometimes wrap my parchment parcels in tin- foil, particularly if I am adding some wine to the parcel. The more liquid you add to the parcel, the more likely it is to tear or split and therefore the tin foil ensures that all moisture is retained, but do remove before serving. I like to split the parchment parcels at the table, allowing the freshness and aromas to permeate around the table, and a mini facial for free!

Kevin

FISH PARCELS FISH EN PAPILLOTE This is a favourite of mine and it works very well as a quick meal option for all the family. En paupilotte is a French term which means ‘ paper bag cookery’ which denotes the way this fish is cooked in a vacuum of steam. Serving the fish still in its wrapper means that each member of the family gets a full facial as well as their dinner!!

Other suitable Fish- Haddock, Monkfish, Pollack, etc 4 x Cod Fillets ( 6ozs/ 150g) each 1 red pepper ( Or mixed peppers) 1 medium carrot 1 red onion 110g green beans 1 lemon Seasoning 50g fresh parsley

Cut some sheets of parchment paper. They will need to be A4 size. Thinly in a bowl. slice all of the vegetables into even pieces and mix together

Neatly arrange the vegetables on top of the parchment.

Gently place the piece of fish on top of the vegetable mixture.

Season the fish with a little salt and freshly ground black pepper. Thinly slice the lemon and place a slice of lemon on top of each and place a piece of parsley on top of that. A little butter is nice here also if you wish. Fold the parchment paper over from each side and twist either end, much like a Christmas cracker making sure that all the fish is covered and sealed in.

Bake at 190C/ 375F/ Gas Mark 5 for 20 minutes.

Serve immediately in the little paper parcel.

Additional Notes: It is important to cut the vegetables quite thin as the fish will cook quite quickly so make sure that your vegetables are not too al dente.

Any vegetable combination can be used.

“Serving the fish still in its wrapper means that each member of the family gets a full facial as well as their dinner!”

TOP TIP: This is my recipe for Red Pepper Jelly, a fantastic accompaniment to fish: 3 seeded and roughly chopped red pepper 600g caster sugar 125ml white vinegar 35ml fresh lemon juice 2 tsp pectin powder Place red peppers in a food processor and purée. Combine puréed peppers, sugar and vinegar in a large stainless- steel pot. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly to avoid scorching. Remove pot from heat and cool for 15 minutes. This allows the peppers to cook slowly in the residual heat and prevents them from floating on the surface. Add lemon juice and pectin, and return pot to stove. Simmer over medium heat for at least 5 - 8 minutes or until thickened, stirring occasionally. Skim any foam from the surface.

Place in sterilized jar. Store in cool area for up to 3 months.