Oven-baked Sea Bass in a Pouch

Saw an amazing piece of sea bass on sale at the supermarket the other day and had to buy it. But I didn't want to fry or sear my sea bass because it's quite a delicate white fish and it's best when it's juicy, soft and flaky. For white fish, I always prefer to steam them. I didn't have a traditional steamer at home so I thought why don't I create my own little parchment paper pouch steamer ;)

To make the meal whole, I added a bed of flavorful veggies on which the sea bass baked, absorbing all the great flavors while it hung out in the oven! Oh...the sea bass was soft and juicy and the juices from the vegetables in the pouch was a perfect compliment to the soft white fish. It's simple and rustic yet super delicious, trust me!

Ingredients (dinner for 1):
1. 3 oz sea bass
2. 1 cup baby spinach, julienned
3. 1/2 tomato-on-the-vine, diced
4. 1/4 yellow onion, thinly sliced
5. 1/4 cup white mushrooms, sliced
6. 1/4 teaspoon Italian herb seasoning
7. 1/4 teaspoon white wine vinegar or freshly squeezed lemon juice
8. 4 slices ginger
9. Pinch of dried sweet basil
10. Salt and pepper to taste
11. Parchment paper

Method:
1. Pre-heat oven to 350F.
2. In a saucepan, heat up 1/4 cup of water and saute onions for about 2 minutes.
3. Add diced tomatoes and mushrooms and season with Italian herb seasoning and cook covered for about 3 to 4 minutes.
4. Add spinach and season with salt and cook covered for another 3 to 4 minutes. Turn off heat and let cool.
5. Lay parchment paper on a shallow plate.
6. Dish vegetable stir-fry onto parchment paper to create a bed for the sea bass.
7. Season sea bass with salt and pepper on both sides. Drizzle with white wine vinegar (or lemon juice) and sweet basil. Top with ginger slices.
8. Seal pouch by first bringing together the length-wise sides. Fold sides inwards to seal the pouch length-wise. Then for each end of the pouch, fold ends upwards to seal each end.
9. Place sealed pouch on a baking sheet and bake in oven for 15 to 18 minutes.
10. Remove pouch from the oven just before serving. You can serve it straight from the pouch or dish out on a plate and serve with rice or potatoes.

Nutritional value of recipe:
This is definitely a full complete meal. At 480 calories and 4g of fat, this recipe provides 42g of protein and 19g of dietary fiber, 42%* of daily required iron intake and 24%* of daily required calcium intake.

* based on a 2,000 calories a day diet.