Summery Baked Fish in Foil

Ingredients

• 1 4-5 oz fish fillet; I’ve used tilapia, farmed catfish, and Icelandic cod; ideally the filet would be about 1/2″ thick
• 2 slices of a nice, big, juicy red tomato
• 1/2 of a small sweet pepper, sliced very thin, or use a mildly spicy hot pepper, such as a Fresno; I used a New Mexico Sandia chile in the photo (great for the home gardener to grow)
• 1/2 small shallot, sliced very thin or a very thin slice of red onion, quartered
• 1 T olive oil
• 2-3 T white wine; if your tomato isn’t juicy, opt for the 3 T
• 1 T fresh lime juice
• a few dashes of Tabasco sauce (or whatever hot sauce – or not -suits you)
• about 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• dash of black pepper
• cilantro, finely chopped, to garnish
• aluminum foil (heavy duty works best)
• a bit of vegetable oil or additional olive oil to coat the foil

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.

Take a 12″x18″ piece of heavy duty aluminum foil; if you only have regular foil, take a 12″x30″ piece and double it up.  Brush a little oil in the center of the foil and fold up the foil edges a little to catch any juices which escape prior to sealing up the packets.

Put the filet in the center of the foil and salt and pepper lightly;  top with the slices of tomato, pepper, and shallots.  Add the olive oil, wine, lime juice, and Tabasco.   Salt and pepper lightly again (about 1/2 tsp kosher salt total).

Fold the foil into airtight packets, starting with the long side.  Bake for 20-22 minutes.  Remove from the oven and let rest 5 minutes; then very carefully open the packets (which will be hot and steamy) and transfer the contents to a bowl to serve.  Crusty french bread to dip into the juice would be a perfect accompaniment.