Halibut in Cartoccio

Hey folks, sorry we haven't been writing lately. We've been uber busy with lots of other things going on, but we have been cooking some pretty tasty dishes. A couple weeks ago Greg and I saw chef Anne Burrell on the Food Network prepare a very simple and impressive looking dish called halibut in cartoccio which is basically halibut and vegetables steamed inside of parchment paper in the oven.

We wanted to try this recipe out with our own vegetable varieties because it looked pretty easy and fun to make. The only labor intensive part of this whole recipe is to julienne all of the vegetables. Usually, we prefer to keep things "rustic," and wouldn't bother to julienne, however in this case it's necessary to cut the vegetables thinly and evenly to make sure they cook properly (and I'll admit, it looks pretty too).

We chose some good veggies that were in season:

Brussel Sprouts (pulled apart the leaves)
Snow peas
Mexican squash
Zucchini

From Kitchen Assays

We tossed them with some olive oil, salt, and pepper and set aside.

Meanwhile, we patted down some thawed Halibut (about 7 oz each) we had bought flash-frozen from Trader Joes (it's good to dry off the fish as best you can, especially if it was previously frozen). Halibut isn't necessary for this recipe; it can be any heavier white fish filet. The frozen fish (especially halibut) is a little bit cheaper than the fresh fish and can be even fresher than the fish that's been sitting in the display case all day. It's a good buy! After patting the fish down we oiled and salted it.

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Next we got to cut out some nice big paper hearts using parchment paper (yes like the ones you do in grade school). We found that the broader the heart you cut out, the easier it will be to crease and fold later on. Preheat the oven to 500 degrees in the mean time.

After we cut out the hearts we placed them on baking sheets and brushed them with oil (leaving about an inch around the edges untouched). We then placed the vegetables in a nice pile (a decent serving size), along with the fillet and topped with two lemon slices on one side of the heart.

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After everything was in place, we folded over the top side of the heart and, starting at the bottom and working our way to the top, folded creases all the way along the edge of the heart to seal the parchment paper. Before sealing up the whole packet, we added a couple splashes (~2 tbs) of dry white wine into the packet (the recipe online seems to call for way too much wine in our opinion). Then we finished sealing the packet, and made sure that it was secure so that the steam couldn't escape while cooking!

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We then baked our packets in the preheated oven (important that it's up to 500!!) for 8 and 1/2 minutes. I feel like the time depends on the size of your fillet and the level of doneness you prefer for your fish. If you want it well done, perhaps 10 minutes is the way to go. We felt ours was perfectly done!

Next, we popped it on a plate and tore open the paper to release our beautiful steamed fish and veggie meal. It was quite tasty!

From Kitchen Assays