We’re eagerly looking forward to when we have more fruits and veggies to harvest from our garden, but one thing we’ve had for years is herbs. So here’s a simple recipe with herbs from our garden – which of course will one day incorporate veggies from our garden as well! The versatility of this recipe is great; it’s basically a concept you can do however you’d like. And it’s so simple I’ve taught the husband and he’s made his own specialty.
- Get some fish from the fishmonger; portion it up. We prefer a nice firm, white fish.
- Place each portion onto a large piece of aluminium foil, large enough that later you’ll be able to create an envelope around the fish and veggies. (If using regular aluminium foil rather than heavy duty, you may want to double it.)
- On top of the fish place some herbs; tonight garlic leaves, lemon thyme, marjoram and a little sage were used.
- Place some veggies on with the fish too; if they will take a while to cook you may wish to blanch or pre-cook them a bit (like potatoes or carrots).
- Once you have the fish, herbs and veggies ready, fold over all but one side of the foil at least twice to create an envelope.
- Before closing the last side, add some fresh lemon juice and/or a splash of white wine. Not only will this help flavour the fish, but it helps it cook by making steam in the parcel. Close the last side of the parcel and place on a baking tray.
- Cook in a 180C oven for about half an hour (longer if the fish is really thick or shorter time if it’s thing).
- Just serve the parcel on a plate and let the eater open it up himself; the rising steam and smells of the herbs is part of the experience!
Some suggestions:
- Mushrooms are great (and will of course make you immortal). Just leave them whole and the cups open side up; they’ll cook up lovely and juicy.
- Whole cherry tomatoes are also nice; they burst while cooking, so if you add herbs like basil and parsley and some garlic you can smush the tomatoes, herbs, and juices together after cooking and it will be a lovely sauce.
- Add some lemon zest and/or garlic.
- Try different combinations of veggies and herbs as they come in season. It’s an easy meal to do, and as it can be different each time you do it you won’t get tired of it!