In Spain when we want to enjoy cod, we buy it dried and salted, Bacalao. And very good it is too once it has been desalted and cooked with love. Nowadays fresh cod is starting to make its way into the Spanish markets too, but in the UK, fresh is what is available – at a price.
In our temporary adopted home of Bexhill on Sea, we have an amazing fish and chip shop very close to home, and we do indulge ourselves from time to time. However, fried food like this is a rare treat and we bought some delicious fresh cod fillets to enjoy at home, cooked in a healthier way.
Ingredients (per person)
- One fresh fillet of cod
- One medium potato, peeled and cut into large cubes
- A quarter of a red pepper, cut into large chunks or strips
- A large carrot, peeled and cut into chunks or thick strips
- Half an onion, cut into about 6 pieces
- 2 cloves of garlic
- Approx 6 cherry tomatoes or one or two small tomatoes cut into halves or quarters
- About 6 spears of asparagus cut into 4 pieces
- About 6 green beans cut into 4 pieces
- Olive oil
- Salt & pepper
- Lemon
Do feel free to mix up the vegetables, depending on what you have available. Make sure to cut the root vegetables into chunks approximately the same size as these will start to cook first.
In a large oven tray lined with foil, put the potatoes and carrots, pour over a little oil and salt and mix in, ensuring all the vegetables have a light coating of oil. Bake on medium/high for about 25 minutes then add the rest of the vegetables, add a little more oil and season with salt and pepper. When the vegetables start to turn brown at the edges and the potatoes and carrots are soft enough to insert the point of a knife, reduce the heat to medium.
Place the cod fillets on top of the vegetables (this would also work well with any other firm fish such as salmon) season and cover with foil. Cook for about 15 minutes more. Check that the fish is cooked through by inserting a fork gently into the fish and looking to see that the fish is no longer transparent in the centre.
Serve the cod on top of the vegetables with a drizzle of oil and a squeeze of lemon juice.
And now for a gratuitous shot of the work in progress. The kitchen´s still not looking like a kitchen, but it´s taking shape…at least it no longer has a bathroom in it!
Chica Andaluza 