Cod with Fennel in Parchment
February is American Heart Month, and as a heart attack survivor, I’m a grateful gal who is focusing in a bit on heart healthy meals that are easy to prepare and super tasty. Enter, cooking in parchment.
It may seem fancy, but essentially, it’s a simple way to cook with steam.
This is what your packet will look like once the edges have all been folded. Just tuck the tail underneath and place on a baking sheet.
I am constantly searching for recipes that are healthy, but still loaded with flavor. I’ve made variations of this dish for years…decades even. But I wanted something appropriate for the season, and nothing screams winter to me like clementines and fennel. Weird. I know.
If you’re not a black jelly bean fan, the very idea of fennel, a licorice-tasting veg, may turn you off. But I am here to herald the glory that it is cooked fennel.
When cooked, fennel gets soft and sweet, and loses its overpowering licorice flavor. It is delicious. Truly, madly delicious.
The idea here is to make a tasty bed for your fish to rest upon, flavor generously with salt & pepper and a nice glug of olive oil, then seal tight to keep the steam inside.
I added some clementines based off an Ottolenghi chicken recipe that I’ve used dozens of times (you should try it) to amp up the flavor a bit.
As for fish, I prefer a flaky white fish here, but really, you can use whatever floats your boat. I will say that I absolutely love having individually frozen fish fillets ready to go in my freezer. To that, simply place the frozen fillet, in its package, into a bowl of cold water for about 20 minutes. BAM! Thawed fish, ready to go.
I’ve found that this really makes dinnertime an easier proposition, and an easy go-to when cooking for one or two.
This is what your packet will look like once the edges have all been folded. Just tuck the tail underneath and place on a baking sheet.
The trickiest part of the entire recipe is sealing your parchment just so, but if you cut your paper into a heart, and start from the top of the heart, folding your way around the curve and down to the bottom using little folds, it will all stay together just fine. Tuck the tail underneath and it will stay put for sure.
Feel free to mix things up a bit. If fennel isn’t your jam, maybe try a hearty bed of spinach. In the summer, I’ll make this dish with halved cherry tomatoes, corn off the cob, and diced zucchini instead of the fennel and orange, so there’s tons of room to play around. Just be sure to season generously with salt and pepper and don’t forget a flavorful olive oil too.
Easy, tasty, healthy, and perfect for one or two. Just be sure to be super careful when you remove the packets from the oven and open the packet. It will release A LOT of steam, and you want to avoid the fish steam facial and/or burning your fingers. I like to serve this with a lovely farro on the side, but choose your starch of choice if you need one.
If you’d like to see a video on how to make this start to finish, just check out the demo I did with the lovely folks at AARP Maryland below.
Give it a go and let me know what you think!
Stay well-
Christine
Careful when opening the packet so that you don’t burn yourself - the steam will be hot!