Foil Packet Cod-zilla with Zucchini, Boy Choy, Mushrooms and Leeks

Word to the wise - when you ask for fresh fish, make sure to say you only want a one person size portion, otherwise instead of getting Alaskan Cod Filet, you get the Codzilla size!

Note:  This is the first time I cooked fish and first time cooking Bok Choy and Leeks.  I didn't realize that leeks were onions strong rival.

Codzilla Foil-Packet Cod with Zucchini, Bok Choy, Mushrooms & Leeks

This is for the half of Codzilla I cooked tonight. I made two separate foil packets and divided everything between them.

Ingredients

• About ½ of a large Alaskan cod fillet
• Wash all veggies, of course
• 1 small zucchini, sliced into thin half-moons
• 1–2 baby bok choy or about 1½ cups chopped
• ½ cup mushrooms, sliced
• ½ leek, white and light-green parts only - This innocent-looking leek is concealing an archaeological dig - follow notes about washing them!
• 1 small garlic clove, minced OR about ¼–½ teaspoon garlic powder
• 1–2 teaspoons olive oil
• Black pepper
• Garlic powder, if you’re not using fresh garlic
• Paprika
• 1–2 tablespoons no-salt-added chicken broth
• Lemon juice, if you have it
• Aluminum foil

1. Preheat the oven

Heat your oven to 400°F.

Take Codzilla out of the refrigerator while you prepare the vegetables.

2. Prepare the leek

Cut off the root end and the tough, dark-green top. Keep the white and pale-green section.

Slice it into thin rings.

Put those rings into a bowl of cold water and swish them around really well. Leeks hide dirt between their layers like nobody's business.

Lift the leek pieces out of the water with your hands or a slotted spoon so the grit stays behind.

3. Prepare your other vegetables

Zucchini: Cut into fairly thin half-moons.

Bok choy: Cut off the bottom. Separate the white crunchy stems from the leafy green parts and chop both.  You want to separate the white crunchy from the green leafy, because the white crunchy takes longer to cook.

Mushrooms: Slice them.

You don’t need onion or onion powder tonight. The leek is giving us that flavor, trust me on this.  Don't over load on leeks.

4. Prepare the cod

Cut the large fillet roughly in half.

Put the unused raw half back into the refrigerator, tightly wrapped/sealed. That’s tomorrow’s Codzilla problem.  I might try the skillet next time.

Look at the half you’re cooking. If it’s still enormous, cut it into two pieces and make two packets. I actually prefer that because they’ll cook more evenly.

Pat the cod dry with a paper towel.

5. Build each foil packet

Lay out a generous sheet of foil.

Make a vegetable bed in the center:

Zucchini → bok choy stems → leek → mushrooms

Drizzle just a little olive oil over them and add some black pepper and garlic.

Now place the cod on top.

Put the leafy green bok choy around the fish. The leaves cook quickly, so they don’t need to be underneath.

6. Season Codzilla 🐟

Drizzle/rub a little olive oil over the top of the cod.

Sprinkle with:

• Garlic
• Black pepper
• Paprika

If you have lemon, give it a small squeeze of lemon juice. I didn't have a lemon and wish I did, because it might have made it slightly less fishy.

Then pour about 1 tablespoon of your no-salt chicken broth around the vegetables in each packet. Don’t pour it over the top of the fish.  (I did not do this, the other veggies released plenty of water.)

You don’t need much liquid. The zucchini, mushrooms and bok choy will release water as they cook too.

7. Seal the packets

Bring the long sides of the foil together above the fish and fold them over several times.

Then fold/crimp the ends closed.

You want a sealed packet with a little room inside for steam—not foil vacuum-packed against the fish.

Put the packets on a baking sheet or oven-safe pan.

8. Bake

Bake at 400°F for 20 minutes.

Carefully open one packet—watch your hands and face because hot steam will escape.

Check the thickest part of the cod.

You’re looking for fish that is white, opaque and flakes/separates easily with a fork. If you have a food thermometer, the center should reach 145°F.

If it isn’t there yet, close the packet and cook another 2–4 minutes, then check again.

Because your Codzilla pieces are thick, don’t be surprised if they need closer to 20-25 minutes total.

The packet itself is a great cooking method: very little oil, vegetables stay moist, almost no cleanup, and you can make a single serving without producing a week’s worth of leftovers.

Some especially good possibilities:

• Chicken + zucchini + mushrooms + bok choy — Thin chicken breast or chicken tenderloins, sliced vegetables, garlic, pepper, paprika and a small drizzle of olive oil. This would probably be my first choice.
• Chicken + green beans + mushrooms + water chestnuts
• Chicken + asparagus + mushrooms + lemon — Very simple. Garlic, pepper, lemon and perhaps a little Parmesan after opening the packet.
• Shrimp + bok choy + zucchini + water chestnuts — Shrimp cook quickly, so this would be a shorter packet cook. You could give it a garlic-lemon flavor rather than making it salty.
• Turkey sausage + cabbage + green beans — We’d want to choose a lower-sodium sausage, but the cabbage would steam down beautifully while still giving you something substantial to chew.
• Just vegetables! Bok choy, leeks, zucchini, mushrooms, green beans and onion would make a fantastic vegetable packet.