A spring break recipe for when you’re stuck at home.
Lime-and-jalapeño-steamed fish with mango salsa fresca
My husband and I started new jobs during the past month, so this Spring Break, we’re staying within arm’s reach of our laptops and don’t play to stray too far from home.
To gear up for an onslaught of pictures from friends heading to warmer environs, I thought I’d create a recipe to pretend I’m hanging out closer to the Equator.
I used to think of cooking fish en papillote (in parchment paper or foil packets) as unnecessarily fussy. Some recent experiments, however, have shown me the glory of this method.
I think, in the past, I didn’t add enough flavorful ingredients to the package to make it worth the effort. For this recipe, the fish gets bathed in lime juice while sliced white onion and jalapeno infuse the juices.
Cooking fish this way is also incredibly forgiving: Even if you overcook the fish, it stays pleasant to eat from the steam sauna it gets in the oven.
If you’d rather not mess with the packets, I’ve also offered instructions for baking the fish. (Be careful here, though — the fish will dry out when overcooked.)
I top the fish with fresh mango salsa to accentuate the tropical vibe. While the recipe comes together fast, it does involve some time at the cutting board. (Think of it as knife-work therapy.) To make it easier, you can purchase pre-sliced mangos.
Lime-and-jalapeño-steamed fish with mango salsa fresca
Time: 30 mins
Serves 4
½ small to medium white onion
1 large jalapeño
2 limes
Four 6-to-8-ounce fillets white fish, such as flounder, cod, haddock, grouper, or halibut
Salt
Extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling
1 large or 2 small mangos or 8 ounces pre-sliced mango
½ cup finely chopped cilantro
Preheat the oven and prepare the parchment paper
Preheat the oven to 450°F.
Pull out four 16-inch pieces of parchment paper and have 2 rimmed baking sheets ready.
Prepare the onion, jalapeño, and one of the limes
Halve your 1/2 onion through the root to form wedges that are each a quarter of the onion. Thinly slice one of the quarters and transfer to a bowl. This will be for steaming the fish.
Finely chop the other quarter and transfer to another bowl. This will be for the salsa.
Cut the jalapeño in half lengthwise. Slice one of the halves crosswise and transfer to the bowl with the sliced onion for steaming the fish. (I like leaving in the seeds here for a little heat but you can remove them if you don’t want a lot of spice.)
Finely chop the remaining half jalapeno and transfer to the bowl for the salsa. (I like to remove the seeds for the salsa.)
Prepare and bake the fish packets
Finely zest 1 of the limes into the bowl of veggies for steaming the fish, then cut the lime in half.
Working with 1 piece of parchment at a time, arrange the paper with the long side facing you. Fold it in half so the left side meets the right side, as if you’re folding a book and press to crease.
Open up the halved parchment and arrange a fish fillet on the right half of the paper, near the crease. Sprinkle the fish on both sides lightly with salt. Squeeze some juice from the halved lime over the fish, then top with about one-quarter of the sliced onion-jalapeño mixture.
Drizzle the fish with olive oil (about 1 tablespoon).
Fold the left side of the parchment over the right to enclose the fish. Starting from the bottom left corner, fold the parchment toward the fish on an angle, as if you’re crimping dough. Working all the way around, continue folding the paper toward the fish goal is to fully enclose the fish.
Transfer the packet to one of the baking sheets.
Repeat with the remaining fish.
Bake the fish until the packets are puffed and the fish is opaque throughout, about 6 minutes for thin fillets (thinner than ½ inch), 8 minutes for fillets between ½ inch and 1 inch, and 10 minutes for fillets thicker than 1 inch.
Finish the salsa and serve
Dice the mango into bite-sized pieces and add to the chopped onion and jalapeno.
Zest the other lime into the bowl, then halve and squeeze the juice into the bowl. Add a pinch of salt and toss, then taste and season with more salt, if desired.
Stir in the cilantro.
When the fish is finished cooking, let the packets stand for 1 minute. You can then open the packets and transfer the fish with the juices to plates or put a packet directly on the plate.
Serve, passing mango salsa at the table.
If you don’t want to mess with the packets…
Preheat the oven to 400°F and line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
Arrange the fish fillets on the parchment. Season the fish with salt and drizzle with lime juice and olive oil. Divide the sliced onion and jalapeno mixture over the fish.
Bake the fish until it’s opaque throughout, about 6 minutes for thin fillets (thinner than ½ inch), 8 minutes for fillets between ½ inch and 1 inch, and 10 minutes for fillets thicker than 1 inch.
The short version
Preheat the oven to 450°F and pull four 16-inch pieces of parchment paper.
Thinly slice one-quarter of the onion and half the jalapeño and toss together to steam with the fish. Finely chop the other quarter onion and half jalapeño for the salsa.
Finely zest 1 of the limes and add to the veggies for steaming the fish.
Build your parchment packets, putting one piece of fish in each. Season the fish with salt and drizzle with lime juice. Top with a quarter of the onion-mixture in each, then drizzle with olive oil. Close the packets.
Bake the fish, about 6 minutes for thin fillets (thinner than ½ inch), 8 minutes for fillets between ½ inch and 1 inch, and 10 minutes for fillets thicker than 1 inch.
Dice the mango and add to the salsa. Season with salt and stir in the cilantro.
Serve the fish, passing the salsa at the table.
Swaps
Instead of white onion, use red onion. (It might stain the fish when steaming, however.)
Instead of jalapeno, use serrano chiles or for something spicier with a fruitier flavor, try habanero chiles.
Instead of mango, you could use peaches (they’re best when in season) or cherry tomatoes for a more traditional pico de gallo.
Bonus points
To bulk this out, serve with rice and/or black beans.
You can warm some tortillas and serve the fish and salsa as tacos.
Or serve some tortilla chips alongside.
Did you make this recipe?
I’d love to see how it turns out! Tag me on Instagram @kristincdonnelly or use the hashtag #missiondinner
And if you like this recipe, please forward it to a friend.
If your friend sent you this newsletter and you would like to receive it in your inbox, too, come join us!