“This is a dish for lovers”, was the first thing one of my instructors, JJ, said when he demonstrated this meal for us. “You can have your guest come over, the house will not smell but the dish will almost be ready, you’ll enjoy some wine, focus on your guest, and then stick this in the oven.” This is a romantic meal to make when you are short on time, and want to actually spend time with the one you love instead of scrambling at the last minute to make sure everything is going alright, which has never happened to me. Never ever.

Essentially, you just take some parchment paper (or foil), cut it in the shape of a heart (awwww), stick in the fish of your choice with some beautiful julienned vegetables, butter, wine, salt and pepper, wrap it up, and you’re good to go. All you need to do after that is stick the the parchment pocket in the oven. 12 minutes later, you have a beautiful, simple, and elegant meal that took you 2 minutes to prepare.

In the name of love, relax, and focus on the person you care about today by feeding them a delicious, simple meal instead of fussing and worrying about it. This is the perfect meal to do that with.

Fish in Parchment (Poisson en Papillote)

Adapted from JJ Paimblanc

Serves 2

Note: this dish is extremely versatile, as you can substitute any fish you want (in this case, we used Arctic Char but use salmon, halibut, mahi mahi, or cod or any other fish), any vegetables you want, and any flavorings you want. You can also make it for up to two to 20 people. This version is flavorful and simple. Easy peasy!

If you’re trying to keep it light, feel free to use olive oil instead of butter use a little less.

2 fish filets (about 5-6 ounces each)

1 carrot, cut into strips

1 stalk celery, cut into strips

1 leek, cut into strips

4 tablespoons butter

1 small shallot, minced

2 tablespoons white wine

Parsley, for garnish, optional

2 pieces of parchment paper (or foil), about 12″ by 18″, folded in half and cut into a heart shape

Set the oven to 375 degrees F. Place the carrots in a small saute pan with 2 tablespoons butter and some salt and pepper. Saute over medium/low heat for 2 minutes, add celery, cook 2 more minutes, then add leeks. Saute until they are all cooked, but still a little firm. Remove pan from heat, cover, and allow vegetables to steam so they don’t get tough.

Butter one-half of the paper hearts, using about 1 tablespoon of butter per sheet. Season lightly with salt and pepper, and sprinkle with the shallots on each half.

Place the fish filets atop the shallots, season with salt and pepper, and cover with half of the vegetables. Pour the wine over and dot with butter. Garnish with some parsely.

Fold the second lobe of the heart over the fish. Beginning at the top of the heart, make narrow folds an inch in length around the perimeter. Each fold will anchor the preceding fold. The last fold can be double-sealed by turning the point of the heart up upon itself. Do this with each of the 2 packages. (At this point, the packages can be refrigerated for a few hours, remove them from the fridge 30 minutes before baking to bring them back to room temperature).

Set the packages on a cookie sheet. Bake for 12 minutes, and transfer each package to plate. Let each person open their own package, to make it special. Serve with more melted butter if you wish.