Halibut Package with Dill Pesto

Growing up in Newfoundland I was blessed with eating lots of fish and not just any fish....it is FRESH fish.  There is pretty much nothing that swims in the ocean that I won’t eat.  We are travelling to Newfoundland tomorrow and I so excited that I will be able to eat some wonderful seafood while overlooking the ocean. Taking Geoff to all the "must see" places on my list. Naturally, Geoff has been there many times but this is the first where we are going to be tourists.  We are heading to Cape St. Marys to see the birds, Placentia, St. Pierre, Trinity. I am so excited!  I have not been to these places in so long and they were definate highlights on my parents vacation destinations. Unlike other families who got to go on vacation and have fun - we had to learn!  If there was an historic monument, archelogical dig, or anything remotely to do with wildlife we were all over it! I am only guessing I am all the better for it.

Given where I am going to be in the next week or so, I wanted to share this to hopefully inspire you to try it.  My bad for not taking pictures before posting but they will come as soon as I am back...I promise!  This is a great way to eat fish and you can use almost any type of fish – salmon, cod, scallops or even a mixture of a couple of types.   It bugs me when you go to the grocery store and you only need a little bit of fresh herbs but you have to buy a lot so I try to make a lot of the dill pesto and freeze it in ice cube trays. It can last a long time in the freeze without losing flavour.  Then all you need to do is take it out a little before you need to assemble and let it thaw.  Also, while it is fun to roast your own red peppers it is a pain in the butt. Thankfully, the gods of the grocery store recognize this and have created bottles of roasted red peppers for us to buy! 

The recipe below (again adapted from a grocery store cooking class) states to put all the pieces of fish inside one parchment package, when I do this I will put them in individual packages. I think it is more fun when your guests have to open it up themselves.

Halibut Package with Dill Pesto

1/3 cup	Each loosely packed fresh dill and parsley
1/3 cup	Green onions or chives
1/3 cup	Toasted almonds (sliced)
¼ cup	Olive oil
1 clove	Garlic, chopped
½ tsp	Salt
¼ tsp	Pepper
8	Halibut fillets or steaks (4 oz each)
1	Roasted red pepper cut into 8 strips

                                                    

In a blender or food processor, chop together dill, parsley, onions, almonds, oil, garlic, salt and pepper until almost pureed.

Line baking sheet with parchments paper. Pat fish dry, place on a single layer on one-half of the paper.  Spread each piece with 1 tbsp of dill mixture. Top with strips of roasted red pepper. Fold remaining half of paper over fish crimping the edges to seal.

Bake in a 425F degree oven for about 10-12 minutes until fish is opaque and flakes when tested with a fork.

ENJOY!