I’ve done a pretty terrible job on my herb garden: shamefully, I still haven’t even started it.

A friend of mine planted mint, but it soon colonised his entire garden. A few days ago, he arrived at my door laden down with mint leaves, dumped it on my kitchen table and said: “Here. It’s your problem now.”

As a result, mint is this week’s ingredient of the week. We’ll start off with a really simple, Iranian-style baked fish dish. It takes all of about a minute to prepare, so I reckon it’s also a perfect Wednesday Wind-down meal.

If you’re looking to save money, go for a cheaper cut of fish, such as whiting. In my experience, the local fishmonger or Superquinn are the best places to get quality fish, although the latter is very expensive. We’d welcome reader feedback here!

This recipe will serve two: adjust accordingly.

Iranian Fish Parcels

Ingredients

• 2 fish fillets
• 5-6 tablespoons olive oil
• Juice of one lime
• Fresh chopped herbs: coriander, mint, and parsley
• 1/2 teaspoon saffron (if you have it)
• Salt and pepper

Instructions

• Wash and chop the herbs
• Mix together the lime juice, herbs, saffron and oil
• Place the fish fillets in aluminum foil or baking parchment, and pour a generous portion of the sauce over it
• Cook in the oven on 170 °C/ 325°F/ Gas Mark 3 for 20-25 minutes

You could serve with rice or potatoes and an Iranian salad: cucumber, tomato, and onion with a dressing of 2 parts olive oil to one part lime juice.

I also like this recipe for lime and mint fish parcels with sesame noodles.

Related posts:

1. Wednesday Wind-down: Fish, chips, mushy peas
2. Wednesday Wind-down: Thai baked trout
3. Recipe: Homemade Fish and chips – well, just the fish bit