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Fish in Parchment with Tomatoes, Capers, Fennel, and Olives

A wonderful way to cook fish, the tomato fennel mixture adds fabulous flavor and cooking it in parchment is a good way to keep it moist and tender. I like to serve this with little roasted or boiled potatoes on the side and a big salad. If serving for a dinner party, you can do this with four individual filets, each one wrapped on its own.

Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 11 minutes
Servings 4 servings
Calories 300 kcal
Author Katie Morford

Ingredients

  • 1 medium bulb fennel
  • 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
  • ½ large red onion, thinly sliced
  • 1 ½ heaping cups cherry tomatoes (1 dry pint)
  • ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
  • ½ teaspoon kosher salt, plus more for seasoning the fish
  • ½ cup pitted olives, such as Castelvetrano or Kalamata, torn in half
  • 2 tablespoons capers
  • Freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 ¼ pound filet of fish, such as halibut, cod, pollack, striped bass, salmon, or steelhead (ideally, one single filet)

For preparing the fish

  • Parchment paper

To garnish

  • A light handful roughly chopped fresh basil
  • 1 lemon, quartered

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Lay a piece of parchment over a large baking sheet. It should be several inches beyond the length of the baking sheet on both sides (big enough to easily wrap up the fish, like a generous piece of gift wrapping).

  2. Cut the stalks off of the fennel bulb. Cut the bulb in half through the stem. Trim out the little triangle of core. Cut into very thin slices.

  3. Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high. Add the fennel, onion, cherry tomatoes, pepper flakes, and ½ teaspoon salt. Sauté until the onion and fennel are tender and the tomatoes begin to wrinkle and soften, about 7 minutes. If the onions begin to brown, turn down the heat a bit. Stir in the olives and capers.

  4. Lay the fish lengthwise along the parchment right in the center, skin-side-down. Season the flesh of the fish with a few pinches of salt and several grinds of black pepper and drizzle with the remaining tablespoon olive oil. Spoon the fennel/tomato mixture on top of the fish.

  5. To wrap the fish in parchment, lift shorter sides of the paper towards the center. Touch the two sides together and tightly roll them down until you reach the fish. Then, crimp the top and bottom ends of the parchment and roll them under a few times. Tuck the paper snug beneath each end of the fish. It doesn't need to look pretty or perfect, it just needs to looked sealed, so the moisture stays inside as it cooks.

  6. Bake until the fish is cooked through in the center. The time will vary considerably depending on the type of fish and its thickness. A thick filet of halibut may take up to 20 minutes. Salmon is likely to be closer to 15 minutes. And a thinner filet, could be under 10 minutes. Figure roughly 130 F on an instant read thermometer, knowing the temperature will continue to rise as it rests.

  7. Lift the sides of the paper and transfer the fish to a serving platter. Serve right from the parchment or use a large spatula to carefully nudge the fish onto the platter (if it falls apart a little, you can piece it back together and then cover with the vegetables (nobody will be the wiser). Scatter with basil and serve the lemon wedges alongside.

  8. Serves 4.