fish in a package, fish en papillote

this is a snappy way to cook fish, veggies and grains all in one step. it's called en papillote, which is a French cooking method that means "in paper" and all you do is wrap your ingredients in parchment paper and cover with a little liquid: broth, wine, coconut milk or water and bake. the liquid in the package will slowly steam-cook all the veggies, couscous and fish.  I used a plain couscous, white wine, lemon juice, tomatoes, red onions, zucchini, carrots, red pepper, dill and halibut. but the combinations are endless and it's a good one to experiment with, because you really can't go wrong.

couscous, veggies and halibut.

couscous and veggies.

the finished product.  

FISH EN PAPILLOTE
2 tbsp. olive oil
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 red onion, halved and sliced
1 cup thinly sliced carrots
1 zucchini thinly sliced
1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
1 red pepper sliced
1/4 cup fresh dill
juice of one lemon
1/4 cup dry white wine
2 six-ounce halibut fillets


Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cut two large pieces of parchment (depending if you want 1 or 2 servings) - about 24 inches in length, fold in half and unfold. Stir couscous with liquid as recommended on box, and place on the bottom of the parchment, dividing evenly between packages.  Cover with veggies, cover the veggies with the fish fillet and dill, pour oil, lemon juice and wine over the top of the ingredients and season with salt and pepper.  Fold edges of paper over to create rim, and staple edges of parchment paper to seal.  Place packets on cookie sheets and bake for about 20 minutes, until packets have puffed up.

texas caviar

The ladies in my family make this dish for parties and it is enjoyed by all.  you can make it a couple days in advance, if you have the time, giving the black eyed peas extra time to marinate in the vinegar.  the more time the mix rests before serving, the more the flavors meld together. we serve this like a salsa with corn chips for dipping.  this time, I tried adding a few chopped jalapeños to the mix, that's optional but it did give the mix a nice zing.

4 cups cooked black eyed peas (2 packages in the frozen section, follow the instructions on the bag to cook)
1/2 red onion, chopped finely
1 red bell pepper, chopped finely
4 celery stalks, chopped finely
1 jar of chopped pimentos
2 jalapeños, chopped finely

for the dressing:
1 bottle red wine vinegar (about 2 cups)
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tsp salt
freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Tostito's Restaurant Style corn chips for dipping

Mix all of the beans and veggies in a large bowl.  Mix dressing in a separate container and stir.  Pour dressing over bean mixture, and stir to combine. I like to pour a little extra vinegar into the bowl after this step just to make sure the entire mixture is covered with vinegar.  Let marinate over night or up to 3 days in advance of when you plan to serve it.  Serve alongside corn tortilla chips.