It’s a bold claim, I know. The best? What makes this recipe the best? I’m not a huge fan of fish…

Note: I know I keep telling you about things I’m not a huge fan of. I really really don’t like chicken breasts (dry and tasteless), I don’t like all fish (some of it can be very dry, but that is sometimes rooted in bad preparation… fish is easily overcooked), and I can live without legumes (but I eat them anyway because they’re good for me). Oh, and not a huge fan of kale except for one salad which I will tell you about someday. But truly, other than that, I’ll eat almost anything. Pass the bone marrow, please!

Aaaaanywaaaay, as I was saying, I’m not a huge fan of fish but this is my absolute favourite way to cook white fish. It’s aromatic, zesty, fresh, unusual, and easy. All good reasons to call it the best. The original recipe was first published in Madhur Jaffrey’s cookbook An Invitation to Indian Cooking circa 1973. Food & Wine published it in 1980 and then again in 1998 as part of their Best 20 Recipes Of All Time collection.

That’s where I picked up on it and have been making it ever since, although over the years it has morphed into something healthier (such as omitting the butter) and easier (using store bought coconut instead of grating my own fresh coconut!!). Ms. Jaffrey recommends using halibut. I like using (sustainably caught) sea bass, but any white fish would be delicious.  As with most of my recipes, this serves 2, but can easily be doubled or tripled.

For the green chutney:

1/2 tsp cumin seeds, freshly ground
1/2 cup cilantro leaves
juice from 1/2 lemon
1 garlic clove, roughly chopped
1/2 jalapeño, seeded and chopped (taste a piece first to make sure it’s not deadly hot)

1/2 tsp sugar
2 TBS unsweetened medium coconut
pinch of salt & pepper

Add first 5 ingredients to food processor and pulse a few times until nicely chopped but not yet a paste. Stir in sugar, coconut, salt & pepper, and set aside.

For the fish:

2 pieces of skinless white fish (sea bass, halibut, or other white fish of your choice), approximately 5 oz each
salt & pepper
lemon wedges for serving

Heat oven to 400F. Lightly season the fish with salt and pepper. Cut two squares of baking parchment, approximately 12″x12″. Place each piece of fish in the centre of the parchment and divide the chutney evenly between them.

Fold up packets loosely around the fish. Some people just crimp the edges or fold them under but I use my handy-dandy stapler to seal the end.

Place on baking sheet in the lower portion of your oven. For fish under 1″ thick, I cook for 10 minutes, thicker fish like sea bass, 15 minutes. I like to serve with basmati rice to soak up the lovely juice from the parchment packet, and lemon wedges on the side.