PARCHMENT ROASTED FISH WITH CALIFORNIA AVOCADO RELISH

Parchment Roasted Fish is an easy recipe perfect for a hurried weeknight. You start by piling up shredded zucchini, a fish filet, cherry tomatoes and dill in a parchment packet. Season everything with olive oil, lemon juice salt and pepper, and then roast in an oven until the fish is fully cooked. Tear open the parchment and enjoy!

I’ve thrown a punchy condiment in the mix to amp up flavors. This California Avocado Relish works well with mild white fish like tilapia, cod or haddock. The relish is a rustic mix of diced avocado, red onion, lemon juice, dill, olive oil, salt and pepper. And it comes together while the fish is cooking in the oven!

The ingredient list is pretty simple here, so just make sure everything you are using is great quality! The fish, dill and lemon juice should all be fresh. Try to find the best tomatoes possible. And make sure your California Avocados are firm ripe. You want them sweet and tender, but not mushy.

My recipe below is for 4 parchment packets, but you can scale this down to 1 or 2 as needed.

There are many ways to create a parchment packet. Here’s how I like to do it:

1. Tear off a large piece of parchment paper, then fold it in half like a book.
2. Open the parchment up, and place your ingredients in the center of the right half of the parchment.
3. Fold the left side of the parchment back over the right side, making sure the edges all line up together.
4. Tightly roll the long, open sides of the parchment upwards to form a seal on the long side.
5. Tightly roll the short, open sides downwards to seal the entire packet.
6. At this point, you can place the packet on a baking sheet and roast in the oven.

PARCHMENT ROASTED FISH WITH CALIFORNIA AVOCADO RELISH RECIPE

Ingredients

• 2 zucchini, cut into thin strips with a julienne peeler
• 4 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
• ½ tsp. kosher salt
• ½ tsp. freshly ground black pepper
• 4 6-ounce filets of white fish (tilapia, cod, halibut)
• 8 oz. cherry tomatoes, halved
• 4 tbsp. lemon juice
• 4 sprigs dill
• 2 cups California Avocado Relish (see make-ahead recipe below)

Instructions

1. Preheat an oven to 400°F.
2. Lay out a large piece of parchment paper, and fold in half like a book. 
3. Open the parchment, and place 1/4 of the julienned zucchini in the middle of the right half of the parchment (see video above). 
4. Drizzle with 1/2 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, salt and pepper. Top zucchini with 1 fish filet and 2 ounces of cherry tomatoes. Drizzle with 1/2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, salt and pepper. Finish with a sprig of dill on top.
5. Fold the left side of the parchment back over on top of the fish. Roll the long sides of the parchment upwards to seal the long edge, then roll the shorter sides downard to seal the packet. Repeat these steps with the rest of the ingredients to create 4 packets.
6. Bake parchment packets on a rimmed baking sheet (2 packets per baking sheet) until the fish is cooked through (about 12 minutes).
7. To serve, transfer each packet to a dinner plate. Tear open each packet, top with California Avocado Relish and enjoy the fish directly from the parchment.

California Avocado Relish Ingredients

• 2 ripe California Avocados, peeled, seeded and diced
• 1/2 cup red onion, finely chopped
• 2 tbsp. lemon juice
• ½ tsp. kosher salt
• ½ tsp. freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tbsp. olive oil
• 2 tbsp. fresh dill, chopped

California Avocado Relish Instructions

1. Add diced avocado, red onion, lemon juice, a few pinches of salt and several grinds of black pepper to a medium bowl, stirring to combine. 
2. Stir in olive oil and dill. 
3. Season to taste with additional salt and pepper.