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By Christie Vanover | Published March 6, 2014 | Last Updated December 28, 2022

I’m a huge fan of fish en papillote (fish in paper). It’s the easiest, healthiest way I know to prepare the perfect piece of juicy, flaky fish. You wrap a filet in parchment paper with veggies and in just 15 minutes, dinner is ready.

The presentation is pretty spectacular, too.

Recently, Saucy Mama announced that she was releasing three new wing sauces. Immediately, the Orange Habanero jumped out at me. I couldn’t wait to smother it over a piece of halibut or mahi mahi.

My mind works in crazy ways, I know. A normal person would think wing sauce = wings. Instead, I plunged straight into the ocean.

White fish is so delicate and mild; it absorbs the flavors around it. Habanero is so bold; it wants to be the star. This sauce let’s the pepper shine, but it balances out the heat with orange juice, soy sauce, tamarind and sugar.

When making fish en papillote, I usually use asparagus or zucchini, but I’m in love with the darling little sweet peppers popular in produce sections nowadays. They come in bags or plastic containers and they usually include yellow, red and orange peppers. They’re super mild, but add a nice texture to the soft fish.

The fish and julienned peppers are layered atop a bed of orange garlic wild rice. I used quick cooking rice, so dinner was ready in about 30 minutes, but you can go with the regular wild rice, if you have more time.

You can make everything in advance and prepare the parchment pouches until just before you’re ready to serve dinner.

When it’s showtime, pop the pouches in the oven for 15 minutes, and serve your guests or family their own special gift – a flavorful, colorful flaky filet atop earthy, vibrant rice – all at around 300 calories per serving.

Orange Habanero Fish Filet with Orange Garlic Wild Rice

Servings: servings

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Ingredients

Orange Garlic Wild Rice

2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon shallots minced
1 clove garlic minced
1 tsp. orange zest
1 ½ cups quick cooking wild rice
½ tsp. kosher salt
2 cups chicken broth

Orange Habanero Fish Filet

4 pieces of Mahi Mahi Halibut or Tilapia
3 sweet mini peppers julienned
1 scallion sliced
1 orange sliced into 8 slices
8 tablespoons Saucy Mama Orange Habanero Wing Sauce

Instructions

Melt the butter in a sauce pot. Add the shallots, garlic and orange zest and sauté over medium-high heat, until tender.
Add the wild rice and salt and stir to slightly toast for about 2 minutes.
Add the chicken broth and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to medium-low and cook for 15-20 minutes, until the rice is al dente. (Note: If you’re not using quick cooking wild rice, you will need to cook the rice for about 45 minutes.)
Preheat the oven to 425F degrees.
Lay out four pieces of parchment paper about 18 inches long. Spoon rice onto the center of the paper. Lay a fish filet on top of the rice. Pour 2 tablespoons of Saucy Mama Orange Habanero Wing Sauce on top.
Top with julienned peppers, scallions and 2 orange slices.
Wrap the fish in the parchment by lifting the long edges of the parchment paper up. Meet the edges together. Fold the paper over a few times.
Twist the open ends closed like a peppermint candy wrapper. Repeat so you have 4 pouches.
Place the pouches on a sheet pan and bake in a 425-degree oven for 15 minutes.
Serve each pouch on a plate and allow your guests to open them to reveal the flavorful, flaky filet.