Fragrant Fish Parcels

We went to the Farmer's Market this morning and came home with a swag of green things. We bought some Thai basil, Vietnamese mint, coriander, parsley, watercress, bok choy, gai lan, lemongrass and lime. They are all so fresh and so beautiful, but they are all in massive bunches that do not want to fit in the fridge.

So, I had to cook something with them. I bought some lovely snapper at Chermside this morning and decided to make Bill Granger's fragrant fish parcels. The recipe is in his book Every Day, but I just throw things in there now.

First line a baking dish with a two big sheets of aluminium foil. Big enough so that you can wrap up your fish and a big pile of herbs into a parcel. Throw a stalk of bruised lemongrass into the parcel and then a pile of Thai basil leaves. Add a sprig of coriander and some finely sliced kaffir lime leaves. Lay your fish onto the herbs. In a bowl, mix 1 tsp of brown sugar, 2 tsp lime juice, 2 tsp fish sauce and 1/3 cup coconut milk and then pour over the fish. Wrap the parcel up securely and cook in a 200 degree celcius oven until fish is cooked. Serve over white rice.

I also added some bok choy on top of my fish and garnished with bean sprouts.

Fragrant Fish Parcels
from Every Day by Bill Granger

(serves 4)

4 x 150g (5.5 oz) firm white fish fillets (such as cod, snapper or ling)
80 ml (2.5 fl oz/ 1/3 cup) coconut milk
2 tsp lime juice
2 tsp fish sauce
1 tsp soft brown sugar
1 lemon grass stem, outer layers removed, bruised and thinly sliced
2 makrut (kaffir lime) leaves, centre veins removed, very thinly sliced
small handful fresh coriander (cilantro) leaves
small handful fresh Thai basil leaves

To serve
lime wedges

Preheat a BBQ or chargrill plate to hot. Put each fish fillet on a 30cm (12") long piece of foil

Mix together the coconut milk, lime juice, fish sauce and sugar and spoon over the fish fillets. Scatter the lemon grass, makrut leaves, coriander and Thai basil over the fish

Fold in the sides of the foil to make parcels. Cook on the BBQ or chargrill for 5-10 minutes, depending upon the thickness of your fish - the fish should be just cooked through. Serve with lime wedges.

My note: Although Bill suggests cooking these parcels on the BBQ or chargrill, when he made this on Bill's Food he used the oven, and I found the oven to be the easiest way. I got the oven temperature (200 degrees celcius) from the episode. He suggested cooking the parcels for 10-12 minutes, but I have found that it really depends on the type of fish I use.