The sauce for this easy recipe takes its inspiration from molho escabeche, a classic Portuguese garlic and vinegar sauce often served with fried fish. A flavorful cross between a vinaigrette and garlic butter, this sauce can be used with practically everything, roast chicken, grains, roasted vegetables and more.

This dish keeps things light and weeknight friendly by swapping the classic fried fish with fillets cooked en papillote — in parchment paper packets. Feel free, of course, to poach, broil or saute your fish instead. We love cooking in parchment paper packets because the fish stays moist, and clean up is very quick and easy. Once you get the hang of wrapping and sealing the parchment (there are plenty of how-to videos and photo galleries online), it’s a great go-to method for cooking fish with any number of flavorings.

Fish En Papillote with Molho Escabeche (Portuguese Garlic-Vinegar Sauce)

Serves 4

Ingredients

2 to 3 tablespoons olive oil

1 large shallot, roughly chopped (2 tablespoons)

3 to 4 cloves garlic

Big pinch red chile flakes

1 small bay leaf

½ teaspoon smoked paprika

2 tablespoons vinegar (red wine, white wine or Champagne)

Squeeze of fresh lemon juice, to taste

Salt, pepper

2 tablespoons finely chopped parsley

4 white fish fillets, such as halibut or cod, 3 to 4 ounces each

Lemon wedges for serving

Directions

Heat oven to 375 degrees.

Using a mini food processor, pulse the olive oil, shallots and garlic until a chunky paste forms — or finely mince the shallot and garlic and stir into the olive oil.

Transfer the olive oil-shallot mixture to a small saucepan set over medium heat. Add the chile flakes and bay leaf. Saute for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring constantly, until the sauce is aromatic, and the garlic and shallots begin to turn golden. Remove pan from heat and stir in smoked paprika, vinegar, a squeeze of lemon juice, a big pinch of salt and a few turns of black pepper. Taste and adjust seasoning to your preference. When the sauce has cooled to room temperature, stir in the finely chopped parsley. Set aside.

Rinse and pat fish fillets dry. Place each fillet on a sheet of parchment prepared for cooking en papillote.(Cut a large heart-shaped sheet of parchment paper and lightly oil the surface that will be touching the fish. Serious Eats has a great how-to here: https://bayareane.ws/EnPapillote.) Season each fillet with salt and pepper, and drizzle with olive oil. Fold the parchment over the fish and seal the edges, making a series of tight folds.

Place the parchment packets on a sheet tray and roast for about 12 minutes for fillets of thin to medium thickness (add a few minutes for thicker fillets). Cut open the packets to serve, with sauce spooned over and lemon wedges on the side.

San Francisco food writers Stacie Dong and Simran Singh’s blog, A Little Yumminess (www.alittleyum.com), focuses on family food adventures and recipes with global flavors.