Parchment-Steamed Fish With Buttered Radishes

Parchment-Steamed Fish With Buttered Radishes

These aromatic parcels of spoon-tender white fish, sweet steamed radishes and peppery greens are a delight to unwrap at the table, like Christmas presents. Baked in parchment or “en papillote,” the fish cooks gently, emanating the dynamic aromas of chile, garlic and scallions and a good smattering of salt. Meanwhile, the radishes lend their pink juices to the broth that forms naturally from the fish and vegetables. The gentle, soothing tastes here are undeniably savory and surprisingly flavorful considering the ingredients are few. Though this recipe makes enough for two, you can easily double or triple the amounts to feed a crowd, making it great for entertaining.

Yield: 2 servings

2 (4-ounce) meaty white fish fillets, such as cod loin, halibut or haddock, 1 to 2 inches thick 

Salt 

2 scallions, trimmed, cut into 3-inch segments, then thinly sliced lengthwise

2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

½ to 1 small fresh red chile, such as Fresno, jalapeño or Korean gochu, thinly sliced into rings

1 bunch halved breakfast radishes or quartered red radishes, plus their green tops

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

Flaky sea salt (optional)

Lay two large rectangular sheets of parchment paper side by side on a large sheet pan. Place a fillet in the center of each sheet and gently season the fish with salt all over. Top with the scallions, garlic and chile. Arrange the radishes and their greens alongside or around the fish and dot the radishes with the butter. Drizzle the olive oil over the fish and radish greens. Season everything with salt or, if using, flaky sea salt.

Wrap the fillets: Bring the two long sides of each parchment sheet up to meet each other, then fold them at the top edge to create a seal. Twist the two ends to seal each parcel; they should look like wrapped candies. At this point, you can bake them or store them in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours.

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Place the sheet pan with the two parcels on it in the oven and bake until the fish is flaky and opaque at the center and the radishes light pink and tender, 20 to 25 minutes.

Transfer the whole parcels, as they are, onto plates and have guests open them at the table. (Be sure to warn them about the hot steam.) If desired, let them sprinkle their fish with a little flaky sea salt before eating. Spoons are nice for this dish, so people can enjoy the buttery pink broth along with the fish, radishes and greens.

TIP: Make this! So light, nourishing and flavorful. Prep was pretty lowkey.

My TJ's cod fillets came in a pack of three totaling 12 oz., so I made 1.5x the recipe. The 1.5x recipe still fit on one sheet pan, and combined with some buttered sour toast (TJ's French loaf, so delicious) was just enough to feed two tbh. The radishes I had didn't come with greens, so I used rainbow chard that had been wilting in the corner of my fridge and it worked great. Thank you Eric Kim ~

I saw this recipe and tried it out right away with fresh cod back fillets. Especially the fresh radish leaves are an uncommon but very aromatic ingredient which most people would regrettably throw away. The only slight variation I would suggest to lovers of Asian flavors is the addition of some thinly sliced lemongrass for a truly delightful taste experience.

This recipe is simple and delicious as it is written, and works with a variety of fish. I've made it several times and changed the radishes to other root vegetables like skinny li'l carrots or Tokyo turnips, and added a variety of fresh herbs depending on what I had on hand. Like the previous reviewer, I've used Asian (Thai) seasoning like fresh ginger, lemongrass, cilantro, and lime leaf with great success. I also like to add acid like fresh lemon or lime after opening the pouch.