Yeah you heard me. Continuing my healthy kick I was inspired by a tilapia in parchment recipe made over at KathEats and her use of her stapler to make it. I don’t know how I went so long without cooking this sort of a meal. I think one of the first things I ever really enjoyed cooking was Chicken-in-a-bag ala Jamie Oliver. It is such an easy and yummy way to cook proteins, vegetables and more.
Of course chicken in a bag was never this healthy and you know, it may not even be this good. I can see this meal tossed over some buckwheat noodles and it would be super good with the extra broth. Since I am a Vancouver native I went with a more asian inspired set of flavours then Kath although her version sounded really good too. I love healthy foods that taste good.
Isn’t this picture cute? It looks like a little creature. Or at least I see one… err… it might just be me I guess. It has been a long week.
(serves 4)
6 baby bok choy, washed and broken into it’s leaves
2 large carrots, into stripped about 1cm x 1/4cm wide
1 zuchini cut into discs
1 summer squash, cut into discs
1 red pepper, cut into strips
4 pieces of tilapia or other fish (adjust cooking time if using thicker fish)
salt and pepper
2T soy sauce
1T ponzu sauce
1T water
1 garlic clove, minced
2T ginger, minced
4 large (2ft long) strips of parchment
Preheat the oven to 350F. In a small bowl combine ginger, garlic, ponzu and soy and set aside. Fold a strip of parchment in half widthwise. In the center of one half pile a quarter of the bok choy, followed by a quarter of the zucchini, squash, carrots and red pepper. Press down the pile so you can get it all on there. Drizzle the veggies with a spoonful of the sauce. Generously sprinkle the fish with salt and pepper and place on top of the veggie pile. Drizzle with another spoonful of the sauce.
Now get out your stapler 
. Fold the parchment over itself and starting at one open edge create small overlapping folds and staple ever few inches. (See picture below.) Bake for 18-20 minutes. When finished, transfer to a bowl (careful of staples) and serve.
There are so many other fabulous tilapia recipes in the Blogosphere, here are just a few I stumbled upon.
Tilapia with Lemon Pesto and Roasted Tomatoes
Simple Roasted Tilapia ( I *really* need to try this.)
Tilapia with Lemon Peppercorn Pan Sauce
Tilapia in the Crockpot (intriguing!)
{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
Never tried cooking en papillote before. Looks like a lot of fun.
I love the packet idea! Great photos too!
I haven’t ever cooked this way either. It looks so fun; I want to try it!
Jude – It is fun, and totally easy.
Maria – thanks, I wasn’t overly happy with the photos.
Kalyn – You definitely should, very healthy!
I’ve cooked fish in parchment before, but it’s been a long time. This version sounds delicious!
The blog title made me choke on my morning coffee. The tilapia looks delish!! Love the parchment-bag idea.