Fresh cod has a firm texture, mild flavor and reasonable price. That’s why I love it. And especially with this method of cooking it in parchment paper. You feel like you’re cheating it’s so easy. Crimping and sealing the parchment paper edge package is about the most difficult part.

I have to give a shout out to Darigold for the recipe for the Mediterranean butter. It was developed in their test kitchen and used for their fabulous FRESH magazine. I’ve altered their original recipe by reducing the amount of butter and with the addition of grated lemon zest. Sealed in the parchment package, the butter melts into the flesh of the cod giving it a lovely herb and sun dried tomato flavor.

You can assemble the cod and butter in the parchment packets and keep them refrigerated before baking them. And substitute halibut or salmon for the cod.

When it’s time to eat, each person gets to open their own parchment package by making a few scissor snips on the top.

Mediterranean Parchment Baked Cod

 

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Serves: 4

Ingredients

• ¼ cup (1/2 cube) butter, softened
• 2 tablespoons chopped sun dried tomatoes (packed in oil)
• 2 tablespoons chopped kalamata olives
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh oregano or 2 teaspoons dried
• 2 teaspoons lemon zest
• 1 teaspoon finely chopped garlic
• Kosher salt
• Fresh ground black pepper
• 4 fresh true or ling cod, halibut or salmon fillets, about 6 ounces each

Instructions

1. Cut four 12 by 15 inch pieces of parchment paper. Fold each piece in half, lengthwise, then trim off corners to make a half circle shape; set aside.
2. Stir together butter, sun dried tomatoes, olives, oregano, lemon zest and garlic.
3. On each piece of parchment paper, position a cod fillet next to the crease. Season fillets with salt and pepper then evenly spread on Mediterranean butter. Fold parchment paper over cod fillets so edges of paper line up; fold and crimp edges the entire length of paper (packages should look like half circles with crimped edges). Packages can be assembled 2 hours ahead and refrigerated.
4. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
5. Bake parchment packages on a baking sheet until cod is cooked through, about 15 minutes.
6. Transfer parchment packages to serving plates and cut the tops open being careful of escaping steam.

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