Wicked Good - Archer and Amy's favorite swordfish recipe (by Victoria Allman, yacht chef and award-winning author)

Swordfish En Papillote

(baked in paper)

This is an easy and tasty way to cook fish. You create a steam oven with the paper that keeps all the flavor and juices in the package while cooking. The vegetables and steam create a sauce for your fish.

2 lemons, juiced

12 sprigs thyme, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

½ cup olive oil

1 teaspoon sea salt

18 grinds black pepper

6-6 oz swordfish steaks

¼ cup olive oil

4 cloves garlic, minced

½ red onion, sliced thin

1 orange pepper, sliced thin

1 yellow pepper, sliced thin

1 zucchini, cut in half lengthwise and sliced thin

1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved

2 tablespoons capers, chopped roughly

1 teaspoon red wine vinegar

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

12 grinds black pepper

6-2 foot pieces parchment paper

In a large bowl, mix the lemon juice, thyme, garlic, olive oil, sea salt, and black pepper. Whisk together and remove 1/3 of a cup. Set aside. Marinate swordfish in remaining mixture for 15 minutes.

            Meanwhile, in a heavy-bottomed frying pan, sauté the olive and garlic for 2 minutes to golden.  Add red onion and sauté 2 more minutes.  Add orange and yellow peppers and sauté for 2 more minutes. Add zucchini and sauté an additional minute. Add cherry tomatoes, capers, red wine vinegar, sea salt and pepper and remove from heat.

            Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees.

            Lay one swordfish steak in the center of each of the parchment paper pieces. Divide the vegetables evenly on top of the fish. Spoon 1 tablespoon of the reserved lemon/olive oil mix over each bundle.
            Fold the paper up like you are wrapping a present and crimp each end to seal and secure all the juices inside the envelope.

            Place the paper package on a cookie sheet and bake for 12-15 minutes.

             Either, open the packages and slide the contents out onto a plate of rice or, serve them in the packages so that when the guests tear open the paper they get the first waft of aromatic steam that rises from the fish.

Serves 6

TRISH and JO (who are vegetarians) like Victoria's non-fish alternatives: substitute seared tofu, portabella mushroom or a circle of butternut squash for the swordfish. If you use squash, increase cooking time by 20-30 minutes.

Thank you VICTORIA ALLMAN for this delicious recipe. Victoria is a chef on a yacht and the award-winning author of two memoir/cookbooks: Sea Fare: A Chef's Journey Across the Ocean and SEAsoned: A Chef's Journey With Her Captain. You can buy her books at  www.amazon.com or visit her website at www.victoriaallman.com.