Baked Sea Bass in Paper

If the picture looks familiar, that's because you've seen it before, in my Asparagus Salad with Sweet Balsamic Vinaigrette post. As promised, here's how you make the entree I paired it with.

This one is another gem I picked out of a Turkish cookbook while living in Ankara. It's quick and easy, requiring only about 20 minutes of prep and 20 minutes preparation -- earning it a place on my weeknight cooking rotation -- and tastes wonderful. My mother claimed it as a new favorite and immediately asked me for the recipe, for what that's worth.

As every cook recognizes, preparing any meat dish requires a touch for retaining moisture. Too much time or heat can result in a dessicated fillet with not much flavor or texture to its name, while too little risks undercooking the meat and leaving you susceptible to all kinds of nasty food-borne illnesses. This recipe sidesteps the dilemma in a unique and effective way: by baking the fish inside a parchment paper packet. Done right, this method keeps all the flavors and moisture trapped inside the steak while cooking it clean through -- resulting in a delicious entree that will earn you many compliments!

This dish is also pretty quintessentially Turkish. Turkish recipes all tend to draw from the same basic group of ingredients and seasonings: lemon, parsley, thyme, red pepper flakes, cumin, tomatoes, onion, and olive oil (making us 6 for 8). Simple, but effective -- just because it's foreign doesn't mean it has to be exotic.

Recipe after the jump:

BAKED SEA BASS IN PAPER

serves 4

• Four 6- to 8-ounce sea bass steaks (bass or grouper can be substituted)
• 5 tbsp lemon juice
• 4 tbsp (half a stick) unsalted butter, cut into 8 "pats," plus about 2 tbsp more for brushing
• 4 bay leaves
• 4 teaspoons fresh thyme, chopped
• 4 sprigs flat-leaf parsley, chopped
• 1/2 cup scallions, chopped
• 2  tomatoes, cut into 8 large slices

Sprinkle both sides of fish steaks with salt. Prepare 4 sheets of parchment paper, placing it flat on a work surface and brushing it with melted butter.

Place one piece fish steak in the center . Sprinkle fish with a little over 1 tbsp lemon juice each, then place 2 pats of butter and 1 bay leaf on top of each steak. Evenly distribute thyme, parsley sprigs, scallions, and tomato slices on each steak. Sprinkle the fish with 1 tbsp water each, then fold the paper into a little package or baggie. Put a toothpick through the folds of paper on top to keep the packets closed.

Sprinkle packages with water and place them on a comal or any stove-top grill and bake 20 minutes over medium heat. Or cook them over a charcoal grill or in a 450-degree oven for 20 minutes. Remove from packages, remove bay leaves, sprinkle with some of the residual juices at the bottom of the packages, and serve.