Flounder in Cartoccio
Flounder! How have I lived here as long as I have and never made fresh flounder? It is one of the few local fish that you can find at the market in its entirety and not slivered into fillets. I’ve seen it a number of times and for some reason I’ve shied away from it, I’ve cooked octopus for God’s sake! What was I afraid of?
The plan when we arrived at the fish market was to grill the fish, but flounder is too delicate for the grill and it was too hot to heat up the charcoals, so we decided to go with a very Italian way of cooking fish, in little packets of aluminum foil or parchment paper. Cooking fish in parchment paper or aluminum foil is very typical in Italy, it steams the fish without using much liquid and allows other flavors like herbs, garlic and lemon to penetrate the skin of the fish adding a lot to the taste of the meat. I’d never tried this method and figured that I would give it a go with these gorgeous fishies.
Flounder in Cartoccio
- olive oil, for brushing and serving
- 2-3 garlic cloves
- 1 2lb flounder or 2 1lb flounders, scaled and cleaned
- a few springs of Italian parsley
- a few sprigs of fresh mint
- 2 lemons, one sliced into rings and the other cut into wedges for serving
- a few splashes of white wine
- 1 cup of cherry tomatoes, cut in half
- salt and pepper
Preheat the oven to 400°F. Cut out a sheet of parchment paper or aluminum foil, place it on a cookie sheet and brush with olive oil.
I like to stuff most fish with garlic and parsley, but with the founder being so flat, fish mongers don’t clean them by cutting their bellies open like they normally would with fish. Season the flounder with salt and place on the parchment paper. Place a few slices of lemon on the fish, the halved tomatoes and the garlic, sprinkle with parsley and mint, a drizzle of olive oil and a splash of white wine. Fold over the parchment paper to enclose it completely and seal the edges. Bake for 15 minutes.
Clean and serve with olive oil, lemon slices and salt.
If you are using 2 fish, create 2 different packets.
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Italicious 