I thought I should write this post today just for the “halibut”…

Sorry I can’t help it, the bad jokes just run in my blood.  Have you ever wrapped fish in paper and baked it in the oven?  If you haven’t tried it yet, you absolutely should!

There was a day back before I was married that I made Sea Bass topped with green onions and ginger baked en pappilote, then finish seared with oil for a handsome young man.  Almost one year later we walked down the aisle.  Coincidence?  Maybe…

En pappilote is the French term for wrapped in paper.  Of course your dinner guests won’t care what it’s called after they taste this!  The presentation alone is amazing and the the prep time is perfect.  You can put this beauty together in under 10 minutes, pop it in the oven and serve in under 30.

To get started slice your green onions, carrots and bok choy thin.  Your green onions and carrots need to be very thin as you will be only cooking them for 15 minutes.  To achieve a pretty and thin cut turn your carrots and onions at a slight angle before you begin to cut (this is called a bias cut).

After reserving a couple of the green onions for the top of the fish, mix the balance of the onions, carrots, bok choy, garlic, vinegar and honey along with some fresh cracked black pepper to taste and divide among 4 pieces of parchement paper.  The paper should be about 3-4x the size of your fish.

Season your fish with black pepper and a touch of salt, and place on top of your bok choy/veggie pile.

Divide grated ginger and reserved green onions among your halibut filets.

Now to seal your bags, bring two ends together and fold over several times.  Doing each side seperately fold the two remaining sides.  You will need to fold the paper over itself A LOT of times moving a millimeter each time (seriously for your packet to stay together you must keep the folds super tight!)  You are basically crimping the ends.  Side note, if you don’t have parchment paper but do have clean brown paper lunch bags, you can rub them with oil and use them in place of the parchement.  Just please keep an eye on your oven, obviously all paper is flammable including parchment!

Once you have the packets of fish/veggies sealed place them all on a sheet pan and bake them in your 400 degree oven for about 15 minutes.

While your fish is baking heat the oil on the stove until barely smoking.

Place a package in front of each guest cutting the bag open in front of them pausing to let them enjoy the delicious smell, then sprinkle the filets with sesame seeds.  Using a ladle carefully drizzle the hot oil over the entire surface of the fish.  It will sizzle!  Be careful not to burn anyone!

Enjoy with rice or roasted potatoes and a nice fresh salad.  Your friends will think you are now a master chef and you did it in 30 minutes!

Now it’s time to sit back, relax and enjoy the compliments!  Cheers!

When you make this snap a pic and share!!  We love to see pics of your dishes!