Pan Roasted Cod in Seafood Broth
So I decided to photograph my dinner today. I was going to go the IM route and photograph the prep but after the first two pics I realized it was interfering too much with my cooking and timing. :D
I see so many imperfections in this picture I'm almost embarrassed to post it, but on the other hand I'm not a food stylist so here we go:
http://i56.tinypic.com/wlbtyp.jpg
I found a recipe for a similar dish a while ago but modified it to fit my tastes. As with almost any recipe I post, it's not necessary to follow the ingredients to the letter.
Serves 2
2 cod fillets (roughly 1" thick)
3/4 bunch broccoli rabe, stems trimmed (cooked in boiling water for 2-3 minutes, then drained)
4 Campari or 2 plum tomatoes, seeds and pulp removed, cut lengthwise into quarters
6 yellow cherry tomatoes, seeds and pulp removed, cut into horizontal slices
2 leeks, cut lenghtwise and then into 1/4" half-moons (all of the white part and maybe an 1-2" of the green)
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 tsp dried herbs (I used tarragon and chives)
1 tsp finely cut fresh jalapeno
3/4 cup dry sherry
3/4 cup seafood stock (I used stock that I made from shrimp and lobster shells) or chicken stock/broth
one lemon, cut in half (or juice of one lemon)
sea salt
black pepper
butter
olive oil
Preheat oven to 400°.
Place tomatoes, leeks, and jalapenos in a roasting pan; drizzle with 2 tablespoons olive oil, vinegar, herbs, 1/4 teaspoon sea salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper - toss to coat and spread into single layer. Roast at 400° for 25 minutes, stirring once halfway through cooking time. Remove from oven, keep warm.
Heat 1-2 TBS olive oil in pan over medium heat, add the broccoli rabe and heat through.
Sprinkle fish fillets with 1 tablespoon olive oil, 1/2 teaspoon sea salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Melt 2 TBS butter with 1 TBS olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Place fillets (if they're skin-on, place them skin side down) in pan; reduce heat to medium, and cook for 4 minutes. Carefully turn fillets over and squeeze lemon halves over fish (or drizzle with lemon juice). Cook 2 to 3 minutes or until fish flakes easily with a fork, spooning pan liquid over fish while cooking. Remove fish from pan, and cover loosely to keep warm.
Add sherry and broth to pan and increase heat to medium-high. Allow sauce to reduce to 1/2 cup (should be very slightly thickened), roughly 5 minutes.
Assemble individual serving bowls when sauce is almost done: to each bowl, add one portion of broccoli rabe, top with one fish fillet, spoon roasted vegetables on top of fish. Pour broth carefully into each bowl (do not pour over fish, pour along inside wall of bowl).
Notes: I put in the suggestion for "pre-cooking" the broccoli rabe but for this recipe I didn't, I just sauteed it and then hit the pan with a little bit of water in a modified "sweat." I like a slightly tougher bite and bitterness of it with this recipe.
Also, instead of using sherry, you could use a dry white wine.
