Mediterranean Tilapia en Papillote
I am not a big fish person. Meat three meals a day would suit me fine, but a healthy diet has a fair amount of fish. In a effort to outlive our retirement savings, I have started a search for good fish recipes. Mediterranean Tilapia en Papillote was the first one I tried and it was a success. Adding garlic, capers, tomatoes and olives makes fish into a worthy meal. I am also not a big olive fan, but the brininess of olives does go well with fish.
En papillote is French for “in parchment”. This method of cooking steams the food in sealed pouches while baking. So not only was the fish good, but the cooking technique was sort of cool.
I served the tilapia with couscous and sauted spinach for a healthy meal.
Serves 2
INGREDIENTS:
Parchment paper
2 tilapia fillets
1 Tbs olive oil
3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1/8 Tsp pepper flakes
1 cup grape tomatoes, halved
2 Tbs capers, drained
8 large, pitted kalamata olives, quartered
Salt and Pepper, to taste
2 Splashes of dry white wine
2 Tps unsalted butter
4 fresh thyme sprigs
PREPARATION:
1. Heat oven to 450°.
2. Fold two 15-inch-square pieces of parchment in half. Starting at the fold of each piece cut in a half heart shape.
3. Place 1 fillet next to the crease on each piece of parchment.
4. In a small skillet over medium-high heat, sauté the garlic and pepper flakes in the oil until garlic turns golden, about 1 minute.
5. Add tomatoes, capers and olives to the skillet, remove from the heat and stir.
6. Season the fish with salt and pepper, to taste.
7. Spoon one half of the tomato mixture over each fillet.
8. Top each fillet with a splash of wine, 1 tsp butter and 2 thyme sprigs.
9. Fold the parchment over the fish and working from the top end of the heart, tightly fold the open edge of the paper with small, overlapping folds to form a seal.
10. Place packets on a large baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes.
Adding Zip 