Lunch / Dinner
Sea Bass en Papillote with olive gremolata
This sea bass dish uses the French cooking technique of en papillote [pah- pee-YOHT], in which fish is wrapped and cooked in parchment paper. Since the fish steams in the paper, no oil is needed to cook it, saving you fat calories.
Orange slices, fennel, and a little Pernod steam together to create a broth to moisten and flavor the fish. If you can’t find eco-friendly sea bass, try any firm white-fleshed fish, such as mahi mahi, and for the best results, use a thick cut of fish. Cooking a six-ounce fillet for 10 minutes per inch at 425 degrees results in pure perfection.
Ingredients
FOR THE SEA BASS, SEASON:
FOR THE GREMOLATA, COMBINE:
Instructions
Preheat oven to 425°. Fold four pieces of 12×16-inch parchment paper in half, then open.
For the sea bass, season fillets with pepper and salt; center each on prepared parchment, near the fold. Arrange orange and fennel slices evenly on top of fillets; top each fillet with 1 Tbsp. Pernod.
Fold top parchment sheet over fish and match edges with bottom sheet. Fold over ½-inch of edges and pleat every inch. Continue folding and pleating until entire packet is sealed, folding the last edge underneath the packet. Place packets on two baking sheets and roast 10 minutes.
For the gremolata, combine fennel fronds, olives, almonds, capers, zest, and garlic.
Carefully open packets and top fillets with gremolata before serving.
To properly steam the fish, pleat and fold the edges of parchment paper to create an airtight seal.