This is probably the most easy and incredibly satisfying recipe I’ve made in a while, which was quite the nice surprise as I made it up on the fly last night. I picked up the fish on the way home from work and figured I would be able to create something edible with the remaining ingredients in my fridge from my last shopping trip. I scoured around and came up with grape tomatoes, some herbs, capers, a sad little lemon, and the last of a bottle of white wine hiding in the door of the fridge. I had my light bulb moment and started my prep.
Cod is one of my all time favorite fish to cook, primarily because deboning it is an absolute breeze. Some fish, like black cod (not to be confused with the Alaskan variety I’m using here) and even your straight forward salmon can be such a pain sometimes. I hate the idea of destroying a beautiful fillet of fish just because I’m determined to remove every little pin bone. Needless to say, I am very thankful that I have a plethora of tweezers and needle nose plier options on hand for every deboning nightmare situation my little fishy friends can come up with.
Serves 4 hungry people.
Ingredient List:
- 2-3 lbs fresh cod
- 1 heaping cup grape tomatoes
- 1 1/2 tbsp capers
- 1/8 cup julienned or chopped basil
- 1 tbsp chopped fresh tarragon
- 2 cloves garlic
- 2 tbsp butter
- 1/2 cup dry white wine
- salt + pepper to taste
Kitchen Tools: ovenproof pan, fish spatula, tweezers
Prep Work:
Debone your fish and slice into two inch wide fillets. Set fillets on a plate and place in the fridge while you continue your prep. Mince garlic and chop herbs. Cut grape tomatoes in half lengthwise. Slice about 6 very thin rounds off the middle of your lemon (include the rind!) and remove the seeds, then slice them in half to create little half moons.
Cooking:
Preheat oven to 375*F. Season both sides of your fish with salt + pepper. Melt butter in your pan on medium heat. Place fillets skin side down (this is where the skin was – your fillets should be skinless). Let cook for 2-3 minutes until they start to get opaque on the bottom.
Deglaze the pan with the white wine and use your fish spatula to carefully release the fish from the pan. Just move it around an inch or so at most. Let wine simmer for 3 more minutes to cook out the alcohol.
Arrange lemon wedges around fish and toss in the tomatoes, garlic, herbs, and capers. Season again with salt + pepper. Place the whole pan in the oven and cook for about 7-10 minutes depending on the thickness of your fish. Fish is done cooking when it is firm to the touch and just ever so slightly starting to fall apart.
Serving:
Drizzle the sauce and its contents over the fish and top everything with freshly chopped basil.
Tips + Tricks:
*I highly recommend serving this fish over rice or quinoa to soak up the amazing pan sauce.
