Swimming Things

As I've mentioned before, my first real contact with seafood was when I was in grad school in Boston. Fresh seafood was still a rarity in my part of the Midwest in those days, so this was a new experience for me. I remember being fascinated by the varieties I could find at the supermarket and didn't really know what to do with much of it. My first cooking experience was with scrod, young cod, but this recipe will work with any firm, white fish, like tilapia.

I learned this recipe from a tearoom which was around the corner from my apartment. Sadly, it no longer exists.

Baked Scrod in Foil
For 6, but this is easy to cut down for one or two

6 Scrod fillets; 1/4 lb each
Salt & pepper to taste
1 Red bell pepper; chopped fine
1 sm Onion, chopped fine
2 tb Tiny capers; drained
6 tb Flat-leaf parsley; chopped
6 tb Lemon juice
2 tb Extra-virgin olive oil

1. Cut six pieces (each 14x12 inches) of foil. Preheat the oven to 400oF. 2. Center a scrod fillet on the lower half of each piece of foil, shiny-side up. 3. Sprinkle each fillet with salt and pepper to taste. Arrange the vegetables equally on top of each piece of fish and sprinkle evenly with the capers and parsley. Drizzle each filllet with 1 tablespoon lemon juice and 1 teaspoon olive oil. 4. Fold the top half of the foil over the fish and seal the packets on all sides. 5. Place the packets on a baking sheet, leaving 2 inches between each one, and bake for 20 minutes. Let rest for 5 minutes. Serve immediately, one packet per person.

If you don't have much experience cooking fish, this is a pretty fool-proof way to start.

I like to serve this with rice to soak up the lemony sauce. Green beans with almonds as a side is a compliment which lets the delicacy of the fish speak. Dress the beans with just a whiff of vinaigrette with pimiento slices before serving.