Tilapia en papillote

Years ago while visiting a friend in Dijon, she made us a splendid meal in minutes from a few fish fillets and some veggies in her fridge. Layering a cleaned fillet with veggies and flavoring each layer with a dash of salt and pepper, dotting the whole mixture with lemon juice and olive oil and baking gave us a lovely fresh meal served with rice. Here's my attempt at recreating the special meal we had.

The only thing missing from the image is a topping with a chiffonade of fresh basil.



I wrapped and crimped the parchment to contain the fish and veggies and went on to preheat the oven and prepare the brown basmati side. The oven was preheated to 450-deg-F and the sheet tossed in the oven for about 15 minutes. The baking sheet was removed using a pizza peel revealing 3 pouches speckled with burn marks, but still nicely sealed and smelling wonderful. I let the pouches rest a few minutes and opened mine as a test case to make sure the fish was cooked properly. It flaked nicely and the aroma was enticing. The lemon and steamed zucchini and tomatoes laced with basil made me especially hungry.



Here's a view of my packet opened. I slid the food off on to the plate. It was a lovely fresh tasting meal we will enjoy again.