This meal came together on the fly the other night in an effort to rid our fridge of some produce before we left town for a week. We had some purple romano beans (did you know they turn green when you cook them?…neither did I), some baby potatoes, half a box of organic chicken stock, and a green olive pesto that had been in residence so long that it was practically part of the family.
With these remnant ingredients in mind, I ran to the market to find a suitable protein to pair them with, and lo and behold, my favorite fish monger was rolling in cod loins again, yet more evidence that our local cod stock are rebounding. Huzzah!
This dish is more of a suggestion than a real recipe as you can use so many different ingredients to pull off something like this. Instead of white potatoes, you could mash sweet potatoes, or use rice or a favorite grain as a bed for your fish. Have some left-over peas, asparagus, zucchini? Use them instead of the beans. Don't have any green olive tapenade around, use some basil or arugula pesto to flavor your broth. You get the picture, yes?
There are plenty of things for the kids to help with in this dish, in fact Arthas managed the blanching and cutting of the beans and the boiling an smashing the the potatoes while I busied myself with roasting the tomatoes and the fish, and whisking together the broth. Easy peasy.
Enjoy! – Steve
Cod with Roasted Tomatoes, Beans and Green Olive Broth
Ingredients
- 4 pieces, thick cod filets
- baby red or white skinned potatoes
- 12-16 cherry tomatoes
- 2 cups low sodium, organic chicken stock
- 1/2 pound green beans
- 2 tablespoons olive tapenade or pesto
- EVOO, butter, salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Heat the oven to 375℉.
- Place the tomatoes in a bowl with a little EVOO, salt and pepper and toss to coat. Pour them out onto a baking sheet and pop them in the oven for about 10-15 minutes, just long enough for them to soften and start releasing their juices. Remove from the oven and let cool.
- Turn the oven up to 400℉.
- Place the baby potatoes in a pot of salted, cold water and bring to a gentle boil. Cook until a small knife inserted into the largest one pulls out easily. Strain and mash with a vegetable masher, adding a few glugs of EVOO and butter to your liking. Season to taste with more salt and some freshly ground black pepper. Cover and keep warm.
- Put a large pot of salted water on to boil and prepare an ice bath for your blanched beans (or whatever green veggie you are using). When the water is at a rapid boil, drop in the beans and let cook to crisp-tender, 2-4 minutes depending on their size. Strain them and drop them in the ice bath to lock in their color. When fully cooled, strain and cut on a bias into bite-sized pieces, reserve.
- Heat the chicken stock in a medium saucepan, whisk in the tapenade or pesto and taste for seasoning. If you wish, whisk in a few chunks of butter to make your broth a little more substantial and silky. Take off the heat, cover and keep warm.
- Lay your fish filets on a rimmed baking sheet, drizzle with EVOO and sprinkle generously with kosher salt and freshly ground white pepper. Place the pan in the oven and cook for 8-14 minutes (depending on the thickness of the fish) until just cooked through. When properly cooked, the fish should offer minimal resistance right to the bottom of the filet when pierced with a small, sharp knife. It should be moist, translucent and flaky to its very center.
- To serve, place a mound of potaoes in the center of a bowl, surround with beans and tomatoes and ladle some of the hot broth over the veggies. Top the potatoes with a fish filet and garnish with a little sprig of green goodness.
