Halibut with Red Curry Butter and Chanterelle Mushrooms in Parchment Packets

This simple and elegant recipe will wow your guests and leave you free to enjoy their company. Bake the halibut in parchment on a bed of sautéed chanterelle mushrooms (substitute oyster, trumpet, or porcini mushrooms) and top with rich red curry butter.

My sister Karen Goritski made this with chanterelles picked by her husband Bill and my husband Joe on the bike trails Bill built over the past 28 years. The recipe appeared in an old issue of Food and Wine and modified to my liking.

The recipe serves 4.

Gather these ingredients and start impressing yourself and your tastebuds with your cooking prowess.

• 7 tablespoons salted butter, softened

• 1 tablespoon Thai red curry paste

• 1 small clove garlic, mashed to a paste

• 8 ounces chanterelle (or oyster, trumpet, porcini)mushroom caps, thinly slices

• 4-5 ounces skinless halibut fillets or similar flaky white fish

• Fresh ground black pepper

• 4 scallions, thinly sliced (about 1/2 cup)

• 4 12 x 18-inch pieces of parchment paper

• 1 lime, cut into 4 wedges

• Rice for serving (I make saffron rice)

Mix 6 tablespoons of the butter, curry paste, and smashed garlic in a small bowl until well combined. Place a piece of foil on the counter, form the butter into a log about 2 inches in diameter on the foil. Wrap the foil around the butter log and place in the freezer.

Preheat the oven to 450 F with the rack positioned in the center of the oven.

Melt the remaining tablespoon of butter in a large sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add the mushrooms and a generous pinch of salt, then reduce the heat to medium. Cook the mushrooms, stirring occasionally until they begin to brown, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat.

Cut 4 12 x 18-inch pieces of parchment paper (not foil). Divide the mushrooms among the sheets of parchment, centering them in the right half of the parchment. Season the halibut with a pinch of salt and fresh ground black pepper, and place on top of the mushrooms. Top each packet with equal portions of the curry butter, and sprinkle with the scallions.

To seal the packets, bring the left edge of the parchment over the fish. Fold and crimp the edges together tightly. Carefully transfer the packets to a large rimmed baking sheet and bake until the fish is cooked through, 12 to 13 minutes (a paring knife will come out warm when plunged through the packet into the center of one of the fillets). Carefully transfer the packets to dinner plates, cut them open at the table, and serve with lime wedges, rice, and light, aromatic white or rose wine.

The curry butter can be prepared the day before. The parchment packets can be prepared a few hours ahead, refrigerated, and baked once you are ready to eat.