Possible Allergy warning – please read all recipes carefully
and be aware of any allergies or sensitivities that may affect your health and well-being

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Please Fave the original Here

And brings the loaves and fishes for dinner!

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Wuff's friend wanted a lighter dish for Christmas meal, so Vrghr offered some Mahi Mahi over cauliflower rice with veggies in parchment paper.

For those who haven't tried this technique, cooking fish in parchment seals in all the flavors of the ingredients and gently steams the fish, for a very flavorful and tender result. It's also a very quick cleanup, fast, and quite an easy preparation.

And it's very flexible; you can take the flavors in so many directions with just a few easy alterations to the ingredients you include with the fish or the spices you use on it. It works quite well with many types of fish as well. Salmon is a very common choice, but wuff's Mahi Mahi worked equally well. Even light, tender fish like Tilapia, trout, etc., do well, as do heavy, oily fish like swordfish and tuna.

Of course, you'll need to adjust the cooking time based on your choice of fish, its thickness and texture. But that's a simple change to make.

Vrghr didn't want to keep things too simple this time, for a holiday meal. So wuffy created a crab-based sauce to drizzle over everything, and sautéed a mix of onion, carrot, bacon, and mushroom both to tenderize the carrots and to add a depth of flavor to the relatively mild cauliflower.

Vrghr isn't going to go into techniques on how to fold and seal the parchment in this recipe. It's better to watch those than read about how to do it, and there are any number of YouTube and other videos that carefully show and explain the process. Wuff just leaves you with this: Be sure to seal things up tightly. Don't leave holes or leaks! This technique relies on the steam staying inside the parchment. And, unlike a pressure cooker, parchment is more porous, so the steam is gentle. But a leak will let too much out and you'll end up with dry fish and veggies and lost flavors.

Give this technique a try! The results are spectacular! Tender, juicy, flaky steamed fish! And don't feel that you need to adhere too closely to wuff's ingredients here. Just about any addition that sides well with seafood can be put in the pouch to give wonderful flavors. Lemons are a fav, of course. But so are asparagus, tomatoes, capers, zucchini or summer squash, lime, mushrooms, shrimp, crab, herbs of all types, leeks, etc. Do bear in mind that this cooks pretty quick. Long-cooking items such as potatoes, yams, etc., will need to be par-cooked before adding to the pouch or they'll still be mostly raw by the time the fish is done.

This is a GREAT venue for fresh herbs! Just lay a few over the top of your fish for wonderful flavor and aroma.

Note, this is going to deliver a steamed result, not pan-fried or baked. Both of those are tasty too, but so is this version. Have fun with this and make your own versions. Wuff's sure you'll enjoy them!

(Makes 4 servings)

INGREDIENTS:

For the Fish:

1 lb of selected fish (Vrghr used Mahi Mahi)
4 sliced Bacon, chopped
2 TBS Butter
20 oz Cauliflower Rice (about 2+ cups)
18-20 Cherry Tomatoes, cut in half
1 Carrot, shredded
1 Summer Squash or Zucchini, sliced thin
8 oz Crimini mushrooms, chopped
1/2 medium Onion, chopped
1 Lemon, sliced thin
Fresh Dill
Fresh Thyme

For the Crab Sauce:

1 can (6 oz) Crab Meat w/juice
1 C Chicken Stock (Vrghr used Better Than Bouillon)
1 TBS Vinegar
1 Shallot, minced
1 tsp Grated Garlic
2 TBS COLD Butter
1 TBS Olive Oil
Salt & Pepper to taste (~ 1/4 tsp each)
Optional: 2 TBS Heavy Cream

DIRECTIONS:

Make the Sauce:

In a small saucepan, combine all the sauce ingredients except for the butter and cream and bring to a simmer. Continue to simmer until the volume reduces by about 1/3

Remove from heat and strain out the solids, pressing with back of a spoon to squeeze out as much of the broth as possible. Return broth to the sauce pan and bring back to light simmer. Remove from heat and whisk in the cold butter in several (3-4) lumps, adding the next as soon as the first is thoroughly combined and emulsified. If using the cream, whisk that in at the end

Sauté the Veggies:

In a medium skillet over medium-high heat, add the chopped bacon and cook until it just barely begins to foam and the bacon is just starting to crisp

Add the carrots, onions, and mushrooms and sauté until the onion is translucent, carrots tender, and mushrooms have given up their liquids and darkened. Remove and reserve for later

Add the olive oil to the same skillet used before and allow to heat. Add the sliced tomatoes and sauté until darkened around the edges and wilted and fragrant. Remove from heat and reserve

Prepare the Pouches:

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F.

Prepare 2 portions of parchment (see YouTube videos for reference. You can cut it in rectangles or 'heart' shape, both work. Some recommend spreading a line of egg wash around the edges to help ensure a good seal.) Fold it in half to find the center line, then open it out

(NOTE: Vrghr did 2 portions of fish per parchment, but you can make these individually if you want. Just divide everything out by 4 and lay one portion of fish on each)
On each parchment, make a bed of half the cauliflower rice just to one side of the fold. Leave plenty of room from the edges so you have enough space to make a good crimp and seal of the paper

Spread the sautéed mushrooms, carrots, bacon, and onions on top of each portion of cauliflower. Rinse and pat dry your fish and lay the portions on top of the prepared bed. Season with salt & pepper (or other selected spices). Lay sprigs of fresh herbs (Wuff used Dill and Thyme) on top of the fish. Lay a few slices of lemons on top next. Sprinkle the sautéed tomatoes and sliced squash around the outside of the fish.

Pour 4 TBS (3 if doing 4 individual portions) of the prepared sauce over the fish and cauliflower rice

If using egg wash, paint a line around the edge of the parchment. Crimp and tightly seal the edges. Place the pouches on a cookie/baking sheet and place on center rack of oven

For a 6-8 oz portion of thicker fish like salmon, mahi mahi, etc., bake for 12-14 minutes. (Lighter, thinner fish will need less time; 10-12. Thicker fish steaks will need another 2-3 minutes) Pouches should puff up with steam and may brown lightly

You can test with an instant read thermometer (you won't let out much steam through the pinhole) for proper temp if you're not sure fish is done. You're looking for ~130 degrees.

Remove tray from oven and allow to rest for 3-5 minutes for things to stabilize and juices to reabsorb into the meat. Plate pouches on warmed plates

Cut open pouches with scissors. Remove the spent fresh herbs and lemons from the top of the fish. Drizzle another couple TBS of the sauce over the top. Side with some fresh lemon wedges

Optional, garnish with some chopped parsley, dill, or thyme leaves

!DEVOUR!