Collard Greens Wrapped Snapper

This week I've been to the Farmer's Market, once as a customer and once as a vendor. Not only did I have a great turn out for my second week there, I was able to pick up some collard greens(pic 1) and cauliflower from a local farm.

I had some snapper in the freezer from a Gulf sourced store, and fresh picked radishes(pic 2), carrots, onions and herbs from my own garden. Instead of just fixing a pot of greens with cornbread and beans, which is perfect in it's own right. I decided to see about using those Collards in a few new ways. One day this week, I blanched and sauteed them with mushrooms to mix in with pasta.

But last nights, was probably my favorite! I cut the hardest stems out and blanched the collard greens (pic 3) in boiling water until tender, then shocked themin ice water to stop the cooking until I was ready to wrap the snapper. While I prepared the vegetables, I marinated the snapper in a mix of mustard, sesame oil, lime juice and seasoned with rosemary and salt and pepper.

Once the radishes, carrots, and cauliflower were prepped, I added sliced onions, diced garlic and seasoned with my home made spice blend and put them on a baking dish.

To wrap the fish, I laid the greens out flat, and folded over any gaps from where the stems were trimmed off. Then brushed the leaves with the marinade and placed the snapper filet in the center of the green, I added some fresh herbs on top-thyme, basil and rosemary-then wrapped the collard green around the fish. The seam of the greens were placed facing down when I added the fish to the pan with the vegetables (pic 5). I seasoned the collard packets with fresh cracked pepper and salt before roasting!

The fish really only requires about 15 to 20 minutes to cook, however the vegetables are best roasted around 30-40, depending on the texture you prefer them. Due to this, I roasted the vegetables a bit while I was wrapping the snapper and then finished them with the fish.

I added fresh diced roma tomatoes and chiffionade basil to my final dish.

I do apologize that I don't have measurements and such, but I use instincts and my families tastes when I cook. I hope you take these pictures and the above description of what I did to help you do something similar for your family. Learning techniques, and to trust your instincts are what make better dishes than you could imagine. Just keep trying.