Asparagus And Sea Bass Papillotes Recipes

SEA BASS WITH ASPARAGUS

Steps:

• Prepare a large bowl of ice water. Fill a medium pot with about 4 quarts water and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Add a generous handful of salt. (The water should taste like sea water.) When the water boils, add the asparagus and cook for 2 minutes. Drain with a slotted spoon or strainer and plunge into the ice bath. Remove to paper towels and pat dry. Set aside.
• Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle the fish with salt and pepper. Add some oil and bring to lightly smoking, then place the fish in the skillet skin-side down. Cook until the skin is crispy, 6 to 7 minutes, then flip to the other side and cook for 3 to 4 minutes more. (If the skillet is getting too hot, reduce the heat.) Remove from the heat and top the skin side with the chopped herbs and salt.
• Mix the diced tomatoes with the drizzle of honey, salt and pepper in a small bowl. Set aside.
• Remove some of the grease from the skillet. Add the shallots, salt and white wine to the skillet and bring to a boil. Add the butter and cook until the sauce thickens, then drop the dried asparagus into the sauce. Season with salt, pepper and lemon juice. Toss to coat the asparagus.
• Place the lemon segments and tomatoes around each of 2 plates. Top with the asparagus, a spoonful of sauce and then the fish (skin-side up). Garnish with additional fresh herbs.

SEA BASS IN PAPILLOTE

Steps:

• Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 400°F. Line a large baking sheet with foil, then drizzle with 1 tablespoon oil.
• Pat fish dry and sprinkle both sides with salt and pepper. Arrange fillets, skin sides down, in 1 layer in center of foil on baking sheet and slide 2 lemon slices under each fillet. Arrange 2 thyme sprigs on top of each fillet.
• Heat remaining 2 tablespoons oil in a 10-inch heavy skillet over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking, then sauté garlic, stirring occasionally, until pale golden, about 30 seconds. Add tomatoes and a pinch of salt and sauté, stirring occasionally, until tomatoes are softened, about 1 minute. Stir in capers.
• Spoon hot tomato mixture over fish, then cover with another sheet of foil, tenting it slightly over fish, and crimp edges together tightly to seal.
• Bake until fish is just cooked through, 12 to 15 minutes (depending on thickness of fish); check by removing from oven and carefully lifting up a corner of top sheet of foil, pulling up sides of bottom sheet to keep liquid from running out. If fish is not cooked through, reseal foil and continue to bake, checking every 3 minutes.
• Transfer fillets with lemon slices to plates using a spatula (be careful not to tear foil underneath) and spoon tomatoes and juices over top. Serve immediately, discarding thyme before eating.

ROASTED SEA BASS WITH ASPARAGUS SAUCE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 450°F. Bring broth to boil in heavy large saucepan. Add asparagus; cover and boil until asparagus is very tender, about 8 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer asparagus to cutting board; reserve broth. Cut tips from asparagus and reserve. Coarsely chop remaining asparagus; transfer to processor. Add 1/2 cup reserved asparagus cooking broth and olive oil and puree until smooth, adding more cooking broth if sauce is too thick (discard any remaining broth). Season sauce to taste with salt and pepper. Return to same saucepan.
• Spray baking sheet with vegetable oil spray. Place fish on prepared sheet. Drizzle lemon juice over fish. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake fish until just opaque in center, about 10 minutes.
• Rewarm sauce over medium-low heat. Divide sauce among 4 plates. Top with fish. Garnish with reserved asparagus tips and roasted red pepper strips. Serve immediately.

WILD STRIPED BASS EN PAPILLOTE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Fold 4 large square sheets of parchment paper in half. Starting at the fold, cut out a large half heart shape. Open the paper flat on a surface with the point of the heart towards you. Butter the centers of each heart lightly with a teaspoon of the butter.
• Divide the Swiss chard into 4 portions. Place a pile onto each heart, centering it on 1 side of the heart, towards the crease. Top each with 1/4 of the zucchini, asparagus, corn, and mushrooms. Season the fish well with salt and pepper and place a fillet on top of each pile of vegetables. Place 1 teaspoon of butter on each fillet and sprinkle each with some of the parsley, tarragon, shallots, and garlic. Drizzle a little white wine over each.
• Fold the paper over to cover the fish. Starting at the top of the heart, tightly fold over the edges, overlapping each time, all the way to the point, until it is sealed. Tuck under the last fold to keep it closed. Butter the tops of the packets with the remaining butter. Place the packages onto a baking sheet and put them into the oven for 15 minutes.
• To serve, put the papillotes onto plates and unfold them at the table. (Be careful of the hot steam.) Serve with lemon wedges.

HALIBUT EN PAPILLOTE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• Add the olives, capers, garlic and anchovy to a food processor. Add 1/2 cup olive oil and black pepper to taste. Process to form a silky paste with small pieces of olive and capers remaining, 15 to 20 seconds. Drizzle in more olive oil as needed. Remove the tapenade from the carafe, then drizzle with olive oil and set aside.
• Drizzle the center of each of 4 large circles of parchment paper with some olive oil, then sprinkle with salt and pepper. Top each piece with a thin layer of fennel and some leeks. Top each with a dollop of the olive tapenade and 2 to 3 lemon slices. Lay the fish on top of the lemon slices and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Fold the parchment in half to cover the fish, then crimp the edges shut, being sure to cover the corner of each previous fold. When you are halfway through folding, add 1 tablespoon of white wine to each packet, then continue to fold until the entire package is formed and closed. Place each packet on a baking sheet.
• Bake the fish for 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from the oven, then place each packet on a plate. Cut open the top of the paper to expose the fish. Garnish each fillet with the Calabrian chiles and basil. Serve immediately.