Lemon & Paprika Infused Parchment Roasted Grouper

One of my favorite way to cook fish is in parchment. If you have never tried it ... you are in for a treat! Why cook in parchment? First, and foremost, it guarantees a super moist and delicious fish. Second, there is virtually no clean-up of pans. I really don't like washing pans, and no I don't have a dishwasher, I never have. I have a small kitchen and a dishwasher uses precious space that I'd rather use for more kitchen stuff.
Anyway, back to the fish! The infusion of paprika, lemon and garlic is one of my favorites for many recipes but with fish it is simply divine.  I like to soak the shallot rings in it to take any bitterness out and even slightly soften the shallots, so that you aren't biting into a raw shallot once the fish is cooked. The small amount of honey, yes honey, rounds and evens out the flavors of the other ingredients. The fun part is cutting into the parchment and before you taste it, you get the yummy aroma wafting up into the air. Did I just write "wafting"? That's too funny, clearly I am getting carried away! But that just shows how enthusiastic I am about this recipe. Simply put, it's just damn good! It has the Hubs seal of approval, in fact, between bites or should I say when he would come up for air, he was quite complimentary.

Serves 4

1/8 cup of olive oil
1/2 - 1 teaspoon of minced garlic
Juice and grated zest of 1 lemon
1/2 teaspoon honey
1 teaspoon of smoked paprika (sweet or hot your choice)
4 fish fillets* - use your favorite firm whitefish -  I used grouper
3-4 shallots*, sliced into rings
Salt
Pepper

Place the first 5 ingredients into a medium bowl. Whisk together until ingredients are incorporated. Add the sliced shallots rings. Let sit for 15 minutes or a few hours.

Pre-heat oven at 350 degrees F

Cut four sheets of parchment*. Pat fish dry. Salt and pepper both sides to taste and place in the bottom half of the sheet. Place shallots ring atop each fish fillets and spoon marinade over each fillet. Like you would for an empanada or hand-pie make a pouch with the parchment to enclose the fish.  Place pouches on a lipped baking sheet. Bake for 15-20 minutes or 15 minutes per inch of thickness if you are using a thicker cut of fish.

Serve with steamed vegetables and your favorite glass or two of wine for a light meal. Enjoy!

Recipes Notes:
Type of firm white fish I recommend are grouper, snapper, orange roughy or mahi-mahi. But this method is great with just about any fish.
If you don't have shallots use small red or yellow onions or even leeks.
If you don't have parchment, you can use foil.