I am not a huge fan of fish… I like it, but when given the choice, fish is never on top of the list. The truth is, I like fish that is not easily available in Sydney: sardines, anchovies, small mackerel… However, on Christmas Eve, we tried to follow the Italian tradition of eating fish. We bought snapper and my mom cooked it en papillote (or al cartoccio, as we say), with potatoes, red onion and white wine. It is a very simple and light dish and I must admit that even I liked it a lot! When the fish is fresh, you really do not need too many ingredients that may overpower its delicate flavour… It is a great recipe both for a special occasion or a mid week dinner! Enjoy!
Ingredients:
1 kg – 2 lbs. snapper, cleaned (you can also use fillets)
2 medium potatoes, thinly sliced
½ red onion, thinly sliced
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
100-150 ml – ½ cup white wine
1 tbsp parlsey, chopped
Salt & Pepper
Wash the fish, rub it with a little salt and keep aside.
Thinly slice the red onion and the potatoes. Blanch the sliced potatoes in boiling water for 3 or 4 minutes and keep them aside. In the meantime, mince the parsley.
Take a big piece of baking paper, drizzle half of the extra virgin olive oil at the bottom, put a layer of potatos and some red onion. Season it with salt and pepper.
Place the snapper on top of the potatoes and onions. Cover the fish with some more potatoes and onions. Season it with salt and pepper. Sprinkle the parsley and pour the remaining extra virgin olive oil on the top. Close the baking paper to create a little parcel (you may need to staple it to keep it in place) and, before closing it fully, add the white wine.
Bake it in a preheated oven at 180ºC – 350ºF for about 30 minutes or until cooked through. If you are baking a fillet, you may need to reduce the cooking time accordingly.
Clean the fish and serve it warm with the potatoes on the side.
It is the end of the month again! Which means it is time to check out the great roundup that Nancy from Spicie Foodie has put together of some of the best recipes from the blogosphere! Check out Your Best Recipe of December! I am contributing my Supplì al telefono to it! Have fun!
Mmmmmmm whole snapper is one of my favourites! I really love fish 🙂
This really looks delicious – I rarely cook fish like this, but must try again, those potatoes look great. Happy New Year!
I made fish for the meat eaters on Christmas… it was very similar, but had oranges, limes, and lemons en papillote! Great minds think alike 😉
I honestly didn’t know that fish is difficult to find in Australia! You managed to eat some on Christmas Eve, though! 🙂
Beautiful, simple and delicious…I call this a wnner!
This is great. I like fish, in fact I like all kind of sea food addict, maybe that is because I live near the ocean.
Year ago I cooked fish in papillote, when we were two at home, but later the family grew up, so I decided to not bake individual because it was too much work for me when it was time to eat as I had to help my kids.
But If I have to make a special dinner just for two, this will be my choice.
I could take your post and put my name on it … literally, I feel the same way you do … fish (aside from shellfish) is not on the top of my choices to make … but this dish looks yummy ! I had a lot of trouble finding fish in Charlotte … I did mostly ceviches and no Octopus salad 🙁 … no Brodetto … no vongole, no cozze … but it was delish! 🙂 Thankfully …
Fish en papillote is always great! I’m also not a fish fan, but cooking it in the rape make it tasty and is also super easy!
I love making fish en papillote, especially with fresh figs 🙂 Your potato version looks amazing, I’d love to try this recipe!