A couple of years ago, Jen and I decided to make fish wrapped in parchment paper. I read about this somewhere or other and thought it looked like fun. I can’t remember what kind of fish we used, but it was an ordinary, white fish that looked tasty. Overall it was a success…except for one thing…when we tried eating it, we realized it was full of tiny bones. Yuck!
Kara and I decided to give parchment baked fish another shot. We basically made up this recipe but it was loosely inspired by a favorite restaurant of ours in Mexico. At the resort we stay at in Cancun there is this restaurant called Bugambilias. I can’t remember what I ordered but I do remember that Kara always ordered Shrimp Veracruzana when we went there. It was shrimp with tomato sauce, olives and cilantro.
We went with those same flavors but with tilapia instead of shrimp, and of course baked in parchment paper. We threw in some zucchini and yellow squash too. The fish tasted really good and it was a super healthy recipe. And best of all…no bones!
Here’s what you’ll need
Cut a piece of parchment paper and layer slices of zucchini and squash first
Top with tilapia, a handful of cherry tomatoes, a handful of green olives and a tablespoon of capers
Season lightly with salt and pepper, then fold the parchment paper in half and fold the edges over to close
We cooked the fish with the cilantro, but we think it’d be better to add the cilantro straight from the oven.
Tilapia Veracruzana
Ingredients
- 4 pieces tilapia
- 1 zucchini, thinly sliced
- 1 yellow squash, thinly sliced
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes
- 1 cup green olives
- 4 tbsp capers
- handful fresh cilantro, chopped
- salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lay 4 squares of parchment out on your counter. On the bottom half of each piece of parchment paper, place 2 rows (7 pieces in each line) of zucchini and squash slices, overlapping ans alternating between the zucchini and squash. Top the zucchini and squash rows with tilapia. Add ¼ tablespoon of capers and a handful of tomatoes and olives atop each piece of fish. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Fold the parchment paper in half and fold the edges over to secure shut, like little packets. Place each packet on a baking sheet and cook for 20 minutes.
- After the fish is cooked, top with chopped fresh cilantro and serve.