I enjoy food that has an element of theater. I’ve always been partial to moments of ceremony—the show of opening a wine bottle, or individually hand­-­serving a poached egg for the top of a salad, or ladling a piping­-­hot portion of steamed mussels into a bowl. I like to bring these fish packets to the table like little gifts, creating a “moment” when each guest pulls apart the wrapper to reveal the delicious steaming contents with a positively ambrosial aroma. Cooking any kind of food — particularly fish, which starts out moist but has a delicate flesh very prone to drying out—in a package is a sure­-­fire way to ensure tender consistency and a complete melding of ­flavors.

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 pound baby spinach, washed and ­dried
• 1 teaspoon plus 1 pinch salt
• 1/2 teaspoon plus 1 pinch freshly ground black pepper
• 4 medium ripe tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and ­diced
• 2 tablespoons small capers, drained and rinsed
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
• 1/4 cup coarsely chopped kalamata or cured black olives
• 2 tablespoons balsamic ­vinegar
• 4 7­-­ounce fillets of halibut, skinless and ­boneless
• 1 lemon, thinly sliced, for ­garnish

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 ­F.

2. Heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a large skillet over medium flame. Add the spinach and sauté for 1 minute. Remove from the heat, season with a pinch each of salt and pepper, and set aside. (Alternatively, you can drop the spinach in a pot of boiling, salted water for 5 seconds, then remove it immediately and drain it thoroughly in a ­colander.) Once it’s cool, squeeze the excess water from the spinach.

3. In a medium bowl, combine the tomatoes, capers, basil, olives, remaining 1/2 cup of olive oil, and the vinegar. Set ­aside.

4. Cut out 4 pieces of parchment paper, each approximately 11 x 14 inches. Drizzle olive oil on the paper, place an equal portion of the reserved spinach in the center of each, and place a piece of halibut on top. Spoon equal portions of the tomato mixture on each piece of fish to make a neat mound of ingredients in the center of each sheet of parchment ­paper. Season the fish with the 1 teaspoon of salt and the 1/2 teaspoon of pepper.

5. Fold the bottom third of each sheet over its mound of ingredients. Then fold the top third back down on top of the bottom third. Next, fold a 1­-­inch strip of the top third back on top of itself. Finally, tuck the left and right sides snugly under the mound to secure the ­packet.

6. Place the packets of fish on a baking sheet and bake for 15 to 20 minutes. The packets are done when the fish, visible through the parchment, has just turned white. Remove the baking sheet from the oven and allow the packets to stand for 5 minutes before opening. Slip the slices of lemon into the folds of the packets before bringing them to the table. Place a fish packet on each plate and allow each of your guests to open his or her own packet. Serve with new potatoes on the ­side.

Other Seafod Recipes

Escabeche of Swordfish
Grilled Mahimahi
Mediterranean Sea Bass
Mille-Feuille of Salmon and Caviar
Poached Salmon
Red Snapper a La Veracruzana
Salmon
Salt-Crusted Wild Striped Bass
Steamed Striped Bass
Yellowtail Tartar