This is completely delicious and so easy to make – light and summery but deeply savoury. And ta-dah! Apart from the fish and herbs it’s made from store cupboard ingredients and takes under half an hour to prep and cook.
I’m ready for my close-up, Mr DeMille.
Baked Cod Loin With a Sun-dried Tomato Tapenade Crust
Ingredients:
2 pieces of cod loin, each weighing approx 165-175 g
2 tablespoons of black olive paste (or whizz some pitted black olives)
2 heaped teaspoons of capers, rinsed and drained
2 tablespoons of white breadcrumbs
2 tablespoons of sun-dried tomatoes in oil, roughly drained
2 handfuls of fresh basil leaves
Method:
Preheat oven to 400F/200C/Gas 6
Roughly chop the capers, sun-dried tomatoes and basil (reserving a few sprigs of basil for decoration) and mix with the black olive paste and the breadcrumbs
Press the mixture firmly onto the pieces of cod loin
Place the fish on a lightly oiled baking tray and cook for about 20 minutes
Decorate with the reserved basil sprigs and serve with the veg of your choice or a lemony, peppery salad.
Very nice indeed. I love fresh cod (great when very fresh, dire when not). The crust looks delicious too. Very inventive.
Thank you. You’re right about the freshness – nothing worse than yellowing, dried up cod! But fresh it’s a joy to eat. You’re lucky in your fishmongers where you are.
Is a cod loin the same as a cod fillet?
The loin is the thick, middle part of the fillet, so yes, it’s just another way of saying a fat fillet. The pieces I used were about two inches deep.
Where is your cod sourced from. The Canadian fishery has been closed.
Sustainably fished off the UK coast. Things still aren’t ideal our side of the pond but they are improving:
http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2013/jun/08/cod-stocks-recover-overfishing-marine
Pollack is a decent substitute, do you get that in Canada?
The fishermen here blame Greenpeace for banning seal clubbing because now the seals for eating the cod. Seriously. I used to work on a fish boat off of Vancouver, Island. Salmon.
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