Fish en Papillote {Parchment Paper} with Asparagus

I’m about to blow your mind in 4-3-2…

You can cook fish and asparagus in a packet. I repeat you can cook fish and asparagus in a “packet.” And by packet I mean parchment paper. You can always use foil but for this recipe I used parchment paper- partly because it is pretty and partly because I love me some parchment paper.

Cooking fish en papillote is just as easy as using a crockpot. For reals y’all.

Here’s the Mouthwatering Ingredients for Fish en Papillote:

Fish (any white fish will do- we used freshly caught Snook).
Asparagus– tender-crisp veggie that goes so great with fish.
5 Minute Lemon Butter Sauce– it literally takes 5 minutes to make this hearty sauce. It’s just another added bonus that it includes garlic.
Sea Salt & Pepper

Grab you some asparagus (or really any veggie!) and trim and wash them babies.

Rinse and pat dry your fish. You want to do this because any water left on the fish will steam the fish and get in the way of our absolute delish lemon butter sauce.

If you want to be fancy (like I was for the this post) then you can follow instructions here on how to cut your parchment paper.

In a hurry? Just wrap up your fish and veggies in foil and make your own packet, or just fold some parchment paper together. Wham bam thank you ma’am.

Place asparagus 1-2 inches from the crease in the parchment paper (center of the heart). Salt and pepper the spears to taste.

Add fish directly on top of the asparagus. Salt and pepper again until your little heart is content.

Mmmmmmm…you can’t beat freshly caught snook! ? Get in my belly! Thanks honey for catching the snook!

Wrap up your parchment paper by folding small sections under each other while working your way to the bottom of the heart. I paper clipped mine together to bake them in. I like to make things easy.

➡ NOTE: While the fish en papillote is in the oven, this is when I make our 5 minute lemon butter sauce with garlic to put on top of the fish and asparagus when it is finished.

Bake your packets on a baking pan for about 20 min (cooking times vary depending on thickness of fish).

General rule of thumb: bake fish for about 10min per inch of thickness.

Be careful opening the packets because the steam will escape like a teenager trying to sneak out when mommy and daddy say ‘NO’.

Pour that lemon butter sauce over the fish and asparagus.

Quick tip: if you don’t want to make the lemon butter sauce just squeeze some lemon on top. And if you’re really feeling brave then throw on a slice of real butter too.

Now, I’m not saying that is a shortcut to the lemon butter sauce (because there ain’t nothing to replace that delicious sauce), I’m just sayin’ that when you feel like being a little lazy and not dirtying another dish to wash (we’ve all been there), then completing the quick tip will get you similar results.

Throw some freshly cut parsley right on top to make it perdy.

How to serve: we serve this right in the packet. Just place the open packet directly on a plate.It looks pretty, authentic, and down right gorgeous. We serve it with some white basmati rice.

Tools we use to make this recipe just a little bit easier:

Parchment Paper– You can usually find this in your local grocery store in the foil isle, but for an extra authentic look use unbleached parchment paper ?: http://amzn.to/1TXX9Eo
Baker’s Half Sheet– We use these to bake everything on. Funny note- when I just pulled up amazon to get you the link for half sheet, it said that I purchased two of these on February 12, 2014. Exactly two years (to the day) and they are still going strong! ?: http://amzn.to/1SmT3WW
Silicone Baking Mats: We NEVER EVAH use our half sheets without our silicone baking mats. You will never have to grease another baking pan ever again, nor will you ever have to scrub another baking pan (WIN WIN!). It’s one of those magical kitchen gadgets no one should ever have to live without. ?: http://amzn.to/1SmTpN5

Author: Flip Flop Kitchen
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes
Yield: 4 servings 1x

Description

Easy, fast, and delish! Impress your guests (or fam) with Fish en Papillote {Parchment Paper} with Asparagus. Top it with lemon butter sauce with garlic.

Scale

Ingredients

4 (6oz) skinless fish fillets (any white fish)
1lb asparagus, ends trimmed
Lemon Butter Sauce (optional)*
salt & pepper, to taste
Fresh Parsley, chopped (optional)

Equipment:

4 sheets parchment paper, roughly 17 x 15 inches, each cut into heart shape (demo here)**
Paper clip (optional)

Instructions

PREHEAT: turn the oven on 400 degrees F.
ASPARAGUS: Place 4-6 asparagus spears in parchment paper (about 1-2 inches from middle crease). Salt and pepper to taste.
FISH: Set fish fillet directly on top of asparagus. Salt and pepper to taste.
PREPARE & BAKE: Fold up the parchment paper (see notes) and fold under, or secure with paper clip (if using). Bake for 20 min, or until fish is done***. Parchment paper will be puffy and start to turn brown in some spots.
SERVE: Open packet, pour lemon butter sauce **** over fish. Top with parsley and serve open on a plate.

Notes

* you can skip this lemon butter sauce but it is amazing on the fish** No parchment paper? Use foil. No need to cut into heart shape. ***Cooking time depends on thickness of fish. Fish is done when it flakes apart.****Not making the lemon butter sauce? Throw on a slice of butter and a fresh squeeze of lemon juice.

Show me how you chef like-a-boss. Snap a pic and hashtag it #flipflopkitchen when you make this. I’d ❤️ to see!