Mexican seafood in parchment paper is a wonderfully easy, informal dish — great for picnics, barbeques, or grilling on the beach. The seafood packets can be prepared ahead of time, kept in a cooler, and popped onto the grill, or cooked indoors in the oven. Cilantro is present in so many Mexican seafood dishes simply because its flavor compliments fish and shellfish so well. Try using it in place of parsley in making linguine with clam sauce and other non-Mexican seafood dishes.
Ingredients
- 1/2 lb. each: fish filets, chopped shrimp, shelled, deveined and chopped squid or octopus, cleaned and chopped shucked clams or oysters, chopped
- 1/2 cup finely chopped white onion
- 2 roma tomatoes, finely chopped
- 1/2 cup finely chopped cilantro
- 2 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
- 1/4 cup butter, softened
- 1 teaspoon salsa inglesa (worchestershire sauce)
In a large bowl, combine the fish, shrimp, squid or octopus, clams or oysters, onion, tomato and cilantro.
Cream the garlic, butter and worchestershire sauce together with a wooden spoon and add it to the seafood mixture, using the spoon to combine the ingredients.
Cut aluminum foil into a 6″ squares; divide the mixture among them and fold each one over, envelope style, double-folding the edges to seal in juices.
Place the packets on a grill over hot coals, or in a 375º oven, until they inflate, about ten minutes.
Serve packets directly onto plates and let each diner unwrap his own.
Accompany with crusty French bread to soak up the juices.
Serves 8.
Cooking on the Sea of Cortez: Culinary adventures in Baja California
