“This recipe is one of my favourites because of its simplicity, speed and flavour. It’s also an easy one to remember and to tinker with. I picked it up from the Baltimore Sun in the mid 1990’s. The paper attributed it to Rita Calvert.” – Environmentalist, Stuart Hayward
Ingredients:
4 salmon steaks (1/2 inch thick) – tuna, swordfish or other mild-flavoured fish can be used
Salt & pepper
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
2 medium tomatoes, thinly sliced
1 lemon, thinly sliced into rounds (skin on)
1/4 cup sweet sherry
Directions:
Heat the oven to 475 to 500 degrees.
Salt and pepper both sides of fish. Cut four sheets of parchment paper into 8-inch squares (recipe originally called for heavy-duty aluminum foil but these days there are concerns about aluminum leaching into the food).
On each square, place two slices of onion, the fish steak, two slices of lemon, two or three slices of tomatoes.
Drizzle each package with 1 tablespoon of sherry and then enclose the parchment around the contents so it is airtight.
Place all packages on a flat baking sheet and bake 12 to 15 minutes.
Serve immediately on warmed plates. (The original recipe suggested letting each person open their own package at their plate. This is a cute idea but I have found it impractical: the steam from the packages tends to burn fingers and the unfolded parchment gets in the way of other food on the plate. I prefer to lift the contents of each package using a flat spatula then pouring the juices over the fish.)
Sautéd asparagus makes a complimentary vegetable, for colour, texture and taste.
