Butterfly pea tea – photo Wikipedia

Fish in parchment

A few food trends for 2020 have really caught my eye. Among them is the color blue. No, not blueberries. Or even blue potatoes. Have I peaked your interest? Read on.

Purple yams

Ube is the new “it” root veggie — actually more purple than blue. It’s showing up in ice creams and donuts. 

Mountain spinach

Orach, called mountain spinach, is being haled as the new kale. Orach has a bluish purple tint. It won’t bolt to seed as quickly as spinach.

Butterfly pea

The most intriguing of blue foods is butterfly pea vine. I’ve never heard of it. Have you? Flowers are brilliant blue and make a super healthy tea. I’ll be planting it and will keep you informed.

Here’s a couple more trends important to me, and, I hope to you:

Caring for the planet

Watch for edible (?!) and biodegradable packaging, and reusable everything. 

Sustainable farming/aquaculture

You’ve probably heard of sustainable and regenerative farming for both plants and soil. 

Then there’s aquaculture — farm raised fish. It continues to evolve.

Both wild and farm raised fish can be delicious and healthy. It depends on adherence to sustainable practices, so make informed choices.

We’re determined to eat more healthy fish, so I made steelhead trout and roasted it in parchment. Steelhead looks similar to salmon, and has a mild salmon flavor. It’s usually less expensive.

Anything baked in parchment looks impressive, though the technique is easy. Here’s how to make this simple, delicious and, need I say, pretty, dish.

Simple steelhead trout en Papillote (fish in parchment)

Fancy title, huh?

Usually I top the seasoned fish with julienned vegetables like onion, zucchini and carrot mixed with garlic and olive oil. Then a couple lemon slices. And a little white wine for flavor and promoting steam.

But not today. All I had on hand was olive oil, seafood seasoning, lemon juice and parsley, so that’s what I used. The parchment didn’t puff much since there was very little liquid, but the fish turned out yummy. 

Now if you can, definitely make it with the vegetable topping; but if you can’t, I want you to try this simply seasoned version.

Ingredients

For each serving, 6-8 oz. fish, skinned and checked for bones 

Olive oil

Lemon juice

Favorite fish seasoning 

Parchment paper

Parsley for garnish (opt)

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375. 

Place each piece of fish in center of rather large square (or heart shaped piece) of parchment.  

Drizzle on a little olive oil, lemon juice, seasoning and, if using, parsley.

Fold parchment over fish. Seal edges very tightly in 1/4” folds, sort of like crimping pie dough. That creates a half moon shape. 

Place on baking sheet and roast 10-12 minutes. Fish flakes easily when done. Don’t overcook. 

Place parchment packages on plates. Open carefully, and If you want, slide fish off parchment, making sure to get all juices.

More fish that roasts well

Salmon, arctic char, flounder or other white fish. 

No parchment? No problem.

Use foil. It won’t puff, but as long as you seal it (no need to crimp) you’ll have good results.