While I was working on the draft for this post, I just called it “Parchment Fish.” This is 100% going to be my next band name. 

So I made this resolution in January to eat more fish, and I have been! All of the fish! Well, not all of it. But a decent quantity considering that before January 2015, shrimp and smoked salmon were the only things from the sea that set foot in this house. And now I’ve made this Ina recipe a buncha times, and we love it. It’s easy to halve for two people. And it’s from Make It Ahead. Oh, Ina. Straight to my heart, that lady.

4 (12 x 16″) pieces of parchment paper
4 (8oz) boneless skin-on fish fillets, such as snapper or cod. I’ve done snapper, red snapper, I think even some kind of bass
Kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper
4 Tbsp olive oil
4 Tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice (2 lemons)
8 sprigs fresh thyme
8 Cerignola or other large green olives with pits
2 egg whites, lightly beaten

Preheat the oven to 400. Place the pieces of parchment on a flat surface, fold in half crosswise, and “cut each piece like a large paper heart cutout.” Open the fold flat and plop a fillet lengthwise just up against the fold. 

On each fillet, sprinkle 1/2 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp pepper, 1 Tbsp olive oil, 1 Tbsp lemon juice, and 2 sprigs of thyme. Place 2 olives alongside the fish.

Brush the edges of the entire parchment with egg whites and fold the left side over the right side, creating a packet. Press the edges together to seal. Then, trying not to spill all the ingredients out, make overlapping folds in the parchment from the top of the heart all the way around to the tail. Fold the tail end underneath to seal it. 

Place the packets on sheet pans, again without spilling stuff, and bake for “exactly 15 minutes.” 

Stick each packet on a dinner plate, cut an X in the middle with scissors, and serve hot so people can tear open their own pouch. Voile!