I have been more and more concerned with eating fish lately. I eat only grass fed and pasture raised meats and poultry. Fish, is something we like and is good for us...BUT farm raised fish is not so good. (Read what they feed them!!! And how they're raised!) And the oil gushing in the gulf has me concerned about what the wild fish are eating. Yesterday I bought some wild caught....fresh from the ocean around NJ ....fluke. It looked beautiful.
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But, at $16 a pound, I wanted it to be tasty and moist for my family. But...a problem. Husband was coming home and we were immediately going out to return an air conditioner to a large box home improvement store. Younger daughter was coming home from work, eating, and going to the movies with a friend. Older daughter worked a twelve hour shift and wouldn't be home at dinner, but would want dinner when she came home.
I prepared a tray full of eggplant, summer squash, and cherry tomatoes. Cut them sprinkled with olive oil and salt and baked at 350 for 30 to 45 minutes.
Then I prepared my fluke. First I washed it and patted it dry with paper towels. Then I "pulled the zipper" on it.
I put each portion on a square of aluminum foil. I put a pat of butter, a teaspoon of creme fraiche (sometimes I use those new soft cream cheeses with artichokes and spinach or chives in them), sprinkled them lightly with some coarse salt (a little bit of the ocean). That's it. No added liquid.
Next I folded the foil across the top and rolled up the sides to make a sealed package. I made them earlier than I needed them but I knew I had to go out right before cooking them so I just popped the packets in the refrigerator.
When we came back from making our return, younger daughter was home already, I put the fish foil packets on a tray and put them into the 350 degree oven where the vegetables were cooking. I cooked the fish for about 15 minutes. (Remember, fluke is a thin white fish) I put a packet on each plate to serve.
I highly recommend doing this. The packets are hot from the oven and full of fish and LIQUID...hot liquid. It is easier to pull the foil open (letting out the steam) and then transfer the fish to you plate or eat it out of the foil packet. It's also kind of fun.
Husband, younger daughter, and I thoroughly enjoyed our moist fish and luscious vegetables (see Vegetables ala Dave). I made some cole slaw. And dinner was served.
But....older daughter had yet to eat and would not be home for 45 minutes to an hour. Fish?!?!? I never opened her packet. I put it on the tray with some of the vegetables next to it (also in a packet), slid the tray into the oven, shut the door of the oven, and turned it off. She came home about an hour later and her fish was still moist and delicious and warm.
Perfect!
(Thicker fish...like salmon works the same way....you just need to bake it longer. Also, packets can be cooked on the grill, just be sure not to puncture them and let out the liquid.)
