The Cast-Iron Darling: Tilapia En Papillote

En Papillote is a style of cooking that involves wrapping up your food in parchment paper and baking it in the oven. The moisture released from the food as it cooks effectively steams whatever it is you're cooking, keeping the dish moist and tender. Fish does really well en papillote because it cooks fast, and moist fish is delicious.

I did two versions of this dish - one in a Mediterranean style with olives and cherry tomatoes, and another just with lemon and garlic. They were both great! I think this would be a fun thing to serve as a "top your own fish" kind of thing - lots of various ingredients, and everyone chooses what to add to their little personal meal.

For one serving of the Mediterranean style, you need:

1 Tilapia or other (sustainably fished) white fish
1 clove of garlic, minced
1 tsp butter
1/2 tsp oregano, dried
3 cherry tomatoes, halved
4 kalamata olives, pitted and quartered
2 tsp white wine, if you have it
salt and pepper
6 stalks of asparagus, tough ends removed

For one serving of the lemon style, you need:

1 Tilapia or other (sustainably fished) white fish
1 clove of garlic, minced
1 tsp butter
2 slices of lemon
2 tsp white wine, if you have it
salt and pepper
6 stalks of asparagus, tough ends removed

In both cases, you assemble the meal in the same way.

1. Cut out a piece of parchement 3 inches on each side larger than the fish. I did mine in a heart shape because that's what Martha says to do. To do this, get a large sheet of parchement and fold it down the middle. Cut half a heart shape. When you open it up, you have a full heart shape! Magic from grade three arts and crafts! :)

2. Spray in the parchment with cooking spray (I did not do this because I forgot - nothing bad happened!) Preheat your oven to 375º.

3. On one half of the parchment, next to the crease, assemble your asparagus and lay your fish on top of it. Season the fish, then dot the top with butter.

4. Top the fish with either the tomato/olive topping or simply the lemon, or any other topping your little heart desires!

5. This is the only tricky part. Starting from the top of the heart, next to the crease, fold the two halves together making long pleats in the paper. When you have folded the whole of both edges together and you've reached the bottom of the heart, twist the end together to seal.

6. Put the parchment packets on a baking sheet and bake for 15-20 minutes, until the packets are browned and puffy. The fish will be flakey and moist and the asparagus tender.