September 5: French Fish in a Sack

   Parchment paper
1 pound asparagus tips
2 pounds fillet of sole, cut into 4 portions
   Salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 scallions, chopped
4 sprigs of fresh tarragon, stripped and chopped
   Extra-virgin olive oil, for generous drizzling
   Zest and juice of 1 lemon
   Crusty bread, to pass at the table
   Green salad

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Rip off 4 sheets of parchment paper, each a little over a foot long. Place one fourth of the asparagus in the center of each sheet of parchment, then top with 1 portion of sole. Season the sole with salt and pepper and top with equal amounts of the scallions and tarragon. Drizzle EVOO liberally and sprinkle lemon zest and juice evenly over the fish portions. Fold the top and bottom edges of the parchment together and crease several times, then crease up the ends of the packets. Arrange the packets on a rimmed baking sheet and place in the center of the hot oven.

Bake the packets for 14 to 15 minutes. Serve each packet on a dinner plate and cut open at the table. Pass salad and bread to round out the meal.

4 SERVINGS

This, obviously, is the variation on Cod in a Sack. It is the same, except blander. I normally love asparagus, but it's not that great when it tastes like fish. We went to a labor day picnic and we had just gotten back from camping, so we just ate at the picnic instead. I had taken smores ingredients on our trip, and didn't want to have the extras around the house because of my diet, so I made smores and cooked them in the oven and took them to the picnic. They were a big hit and it only took about 8 minutes :).