Light, flavorful and healthy, Fish in Parchment Mediterranean-Style checks all the buttons!
Are you longing for a lighter meal between holidays? Here’s your answer! Fish in Parchment Mediterranean-Style is an easy meal layered with flavor. Even better, it’s ready in just 30 minutes.
Parchment paper is the secret to these flaky, tender fillets. This fish is simply seasoned and drizzled with a touch of olive oil. Then bright lemon slices, shredded carrot, olives, cherry tomatoes, and a sprinkle of earthy minced thyme are added. After 15 minutes, your parchment bundle emerges with a dinner light on calories, but big on Mediterranean flavor.
Parchment
If you’ve never used parchment paper, it’s available in most grocery stores near the wax paper and plastic wrap. If you can find them, these pre-cut parchment paper squares are a handy option. I love them for baking as well.
What Kind of Fish Should I Use?
I used walleye fillets because I found them on sale and we love walleye. But there are many options that would work for this recipe. Keep in mind that the baking time in this recipe is for thin fillets. Plan to add a few minutes for thicker fillets. A few additional options (and there are others) include; halibut, cod, salmon, tilapia, or mahi-mahi.
Fresh or Frozen Fillets
I actually used frozen because another blog site said it worked fine. They did indeed bake just fine, but it required an additional 5 minutes (for a total of 20 minutes.) I ended up having to check them a few times because I wasn’t sure how much longer they’d take. In the future, I would opt for thawing them in some cold running water first. That way, the baking time will be less guesswork.
Skin-on of Skinless
I used skin-on (because I purchased skin-on frozen walleye.) While either will work, I would recommend skinless. That’s because it’s tricky to remove the skin from a baked fillet with the other goodies in the parchment packet.
Fish in Parchment – Options Galore
You can amp up the flavor with additional ingredients:
- Flavor Boosters – like minced garlic, sliced green onions, lemon zest or sliced ginger
- Veggies – julienned zucchini, thinly sliced potatoes or parboiled fingerling potatoes, asparagus, green beans, or thinly shredded cabbage and carrot slaw
- Herbs like chives, tarragon, dill, parsley, oregano, or cilantro
- Need more ideas? Here’s a link to a site with 18 Parchment Meals that Make Cooking Fish a Breeze.
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Fish in Parchment Mediterranean-Style
Ingredients
- 2 thawed boneless fish fillets *(skinless) 6 oz. each walleye, halibut, cod, salmon, or tilapia
- kosher salt & fresh ground black pepper, to taste
- olive oil
- 4-6 slices lemon, thinly sliced
- 1/4 cup shredded carrot
- 1/4 cup halved pitted olives (green, kalamata, or combination)
- 1/2 cup halved cherry tomatoes
- 1 tsp. minced fresh thymes
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cut 2 sheets of parchment paper to 13-inch squares (or use pre-cut sheets)
- First, pat fish fillets dry. Then place fillets in the center of the parchment. Season with salt and pepper and drizzle each fillet with a few teaspoons of olive oil.
- Surround the fillets with carrots, olives, and tomatoes. Place lemon slices on top of fillets. Sprinkle thyme over fillets and vegetables.
- Lift the parchment paper on two opposite sides of the fillet (length-wise) and bring them together in the middle above the fillet. Fold over multiple times, until you reach the fish. Secure with a toothpick. Fold over the ends as well and secure with toothpicks (see the photo in the blog post.) Note – if you don't have some long sturdy toothpicks like the ones I used, just fold and crease the parchment, or scrunch it up so it stays together.
- Bake fish for approximately 12-15 minutes. Unfold the top and check for doneness. Don't worry about resecuring toothpick if you need to bake a few minutes more. Just refold or scrunch the parchment closed. Transfer parchment packets to plates, remove toothpicks, and carefully open packets. Enjoy!
This is really interesting, I have never cooked fish in parchment paper. I am going to try it.
It’s been years since I baked fish in parchment, but so glad I picked this to feature as a light recipe. It’s really a great healthy way to cook fish with lots of flexibility.