The sadness I feel today after my NFL team lost in the playoffs.
But instead of being bummed and frustrated all day, I channeled those raw emotions to making a wonderful dinner for myself and Angela.
With the ingredients that I had, I decided to make Fish en papillote and shrimp and scallops with Beurre Rouge.
Fish en Papillote
The following ingredients will feed 2-4 people. Please note that if you have your own favorite vegetables, you can use those too.
Fish – You can use cod, halibut, salmon, etc.
3 Green Onions
Parsley
1/4 cup of Cherry Tomatoes
1 Bell Pepper (Green, Red, Yellow…your choice)
1 lemon for lemon Zest
black pepper
sea salt
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Parchment Paper
Pan to put inside your oven
1. Preheat your oven to 450
2. Put a flat piece of parchment paper down, 10-12 x 10-12 inches
3. Put your fish on top of the parchment paper (note: I am using Alaskan Cod), put your veggies, herbs, salt and pepper (don’t over do it but a few pinches or a few grinds) on top of the fish. Followed by 1 TBSP of olive oil on top of the fish and veggies.
4. Wrap up the fish and veggies with the parchment paper and have the folds lie face down on the pan. You probably could fit up to six pieces of fish on a pan or four. And I have used two smaller sized fish pieces in one parchment paper before and worked perfectly. Now put it in the oven.
5. I left my fish and veggies inside the parchment paper wrap inside the oven on the pan for 20 minutes tops. Parchment paper will not catch on fire while baking, so don’t worry.
6. After 20 minutes and wala…you are done. The fish should be moist, the vegetables should be cooked as well. Oh, so delish!
Shrimp and scallops with Beurre Rouge
Typically, most people use shrimp with white wine and white vinegar and scallops with red wine vinegar and red wine.
I chose to use red wine vinegar and red wine for both the shrimp and scallops.
16-20 prawns or shrimp
16-20 scallops (I used smaller sea scallops, but you can use larger sea scallops, you may want to cut them in half horizontally)
3/4 cup red wine vinegar
3/4 cup Zinfandel or dry red wine
1 stick of butter
Pinch of Tarragon (if you have fresh tarragon, you can use 2 fresh sprigs)
Now for veggies, this is up to you.
I used green bell peppers, one roasted red pepper, cherry tomatoes and I added a few sun dried tomatoes in oil, a pinch of crushed red pepper and green onions along with the red wine vinegar, the red wine, and then I mixed a half stick of butter to create a sauce. I saved the other half stick of butter.
Please note: Most recipes call for 3/4 cup of the red wine vinegar and red wine. But I used only 1/2 cup because I try to keep the level of acidity down (as I cooked this a little over 6 p.m. and I don’t want to deal with a sleepless night due to acid reflux).
In another pan, I cooked the scallops and shrimp first and then once both were cooked, I added the scallops to the veggies/sauce and proceed to cook a bit more to get a good stir with the seafood and veggies for a few minutes and then started plating.
Overall, it’s a simple meal to prepare if you have the fish and other ingredients and want to cook something up for dinner with a loved one(s) or with friends.
Bon appétit!
