Pesce Al Cartoccio - Foil Baked Fish

​This is one of my favourite ways to cook fish. Since it’s Easter week, I thought I thought I’d share with you this super quick and easy recipe that you can make in less than 30 minutes. I have used sea bream fillets but you can also use salmon or sea bass. By wrapping the fish in parchment paper and foil you keep in all those delicious juices and preserve all the nutrients. Plus, it’s is cooked perfectly in the oven in just 15 minutes! I’ve used fresh cherry tomatoes, olives, lemon and basil to create a light dish but you can also use other ingredients like capers, sun-dried tomatoes, white wine and different herbs.

Serves: 2

Ingredients

• 4 sea bream fillets 
• 150g cherry tomatoes, halved
• 10g basil, torn plus extra for garnish
• 10g fresh lemon thyme 
• Extra virgin olive oil
• 40g olives
• 1 garlic clove, thinly sliced
• 1/2 a lemon, thinly sliced
• Fine sea salt

​Tools

• Parchment paper
• Aluminium foil

Method

1. Pre-heat the oven at 180C fan mode.  
2. Place the fillets on a small tray and season them with the freshly torn basil, a generous pinch of salt, the lemon slices, the halved cherry tomatoes and the thinly sliced garlic. Add a generous drizzle of olive oil, the olives and another good pinch of salt. 
3. Lay out a large piece of parchment paper and place the fish fillets skin-side down as the base, lightly overlapping each other. Line up the lemon slices over the top of the fillets and add all the rest of the prepared ingredients, as well as a little bit of fresh lemon thyme. 
4. Close the parchment paper by folding the sides over the fish and securing each side to create a little parcel that's sealed all the way around.
5. Cover the whole parcel with aluminium foil to prevent any leaking, then move it to a baking tray and bake for 15 minutes. Once cooked, rest it for two minutes.
6. Carefully open the foil and parchment paper - be careful of the steam and make sure you don't lose any of the juices that are inside the paper. 
7. Serve by plating two fish fillets per person and then top these with the lemon, the tomatoes and the olives. Collect the juices from the bottom of the parchment paper and pour it over the fillets.
8. Garnish with a fresh basil leave and serve with some toasted bread. Enjoy! 

Watch the recipe video

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