So I did my own twist on something I saw Rachel Ray doing the other day on a rerun from like 1990. Yep, it was an oldie but a goodie. She was baking cod in parchment paper with some yummo herbs and such so I took down the temperature which was 400 degrees and added in what I wanted.
I started with the bulb of a fennel plant, if you havent let your olefactory organ soak that in, then you should drive yourself to the grocery store right now, just to sniff it. Then I chopped up about half of a medium sized onion, finely chopped 3 garlic cloves and rinsed (really well) about two tablespoons of capers. This is kind of where I strayed from RR. My family doesnt do well with olives which is what she recommended, so I did capers. And RR wanted me to add parsley but I didnt have any, so I chopped up a little of the fennel fern and added that. RR said to add lemon juice, but I forgot to do that, and my fish was perfect without it..., but you might need it (fish is funky that way).
Then between two pieces of parchment paper I split up the cod portions, the fennel, onion, and capers. I added about a tablespoon of good olive oil and a pinch of salt and generous pepper (cause me likes it).
I wrapped up the parchment paper and set it on a cookie sheet and let her go in the oven for about thirty five minutes. My fish was frozen, so if yours is thawed it probably takes less time to get it all flakey and delicious.
I served it right on the parchment paper... I just put a plat under it, and sliced that package open with a side of steamed whole green beans. Dang, that was some flippin out good eating. The only complaint in the house was that the portion was too small. That was kinda my fault... I didnt know how much fish would shrink up in the cooking, and I thought there were 4 portions in the bag I bought, but there were only 2. So make sure you have enough to keep the guests happy. Other than that, hope this works out as well for you as it did for me.
