Parchment Paper Steamed Fish

A very interesting way to prepare food is by steaming in parchment paper. You can toss all of your ingredients in a pouch, pop it in the oven, and once done, you've got a beautifully presented, delicious and healthy meal. It also makes for very easy clean up. Parchment paper cooked fish is a very fresh and tasty meal that has a very nice aesthetic.

For this meal, I wanted to get some good healthy vegetables and steam them in parchment with some light fish. As I was perusing the aisles at Whole Foods, I saw a carnival squash. I'd never cooked one before, but the coloring on the skin was mesmerizing, and the description said it tasted like a sweeter acorn squash. I picked it up, along with other flavorful veggies, fennel, onion, and carrot and some garlic, lemon, and rosemary.

The squash was a bit tricky to prep. I cut it in half and scooped out the seeds, and then used a paring knife to cut off the skin. I tried to save as much of the flesh as possible, but made sure that the skin was all removed.

I then sliced all of the veggies and coated them with olive oil. I also rubbed salt and pepper on the fish. I then laid out 2 layers of parchment paper on a baking sheet, layered the vegetables, put the fish on top with some olive oil, the rosemary and lemon, and wrapped it up.

I took the fish out of the oven after about 25 minutes, and unwrapped my package to the scent of rosemary, garlic, and lemon. The dish came out very nicely, but next time I might add more of a sauce so there is more flavor throughout the dish.

Ingredients (for 2 people):
3/4 lb of cod or other white flaky fish
1/2 acorn or carnival squash
1/2 medium yellow onion
2 medium carrots
1 fennel bulb
3 cloves of garlic
1 lemon
6 sprigs rosemary
Salt and pepper
Olive oil
Parchment paper


To Cook:

1. Preheat oven to 375
2. Halve squash and remove seed. Peel squash and slice thin
3. Peel carrots and slice
4. Slice onions, fennel, garlic, and lemon
5. Coat vegetables in olive oil
6. Rub salt and pepper on fish
7. Lay vegetables in layers on the center of the parchment paper (I did squash on the bottom, then carrot, onion, fennel, garlic, fish, lemon, rosemary)
8. Lay fish on top, and then place lemon slices and rosemary on top with a little more olive oil drizzled on top
9. Wrap the parchment paper by bringing sides together and rolling down, and then tie off the ends with some string
10. Bake for 25 minutes, unwrap, and serve