Staten Island Style Cod

This is a beautiful and spicy platter of cod fillet ! Years ago, I picked up the South Beach Diet Cookbook and went through most of the recipes. This recipe, while written for Chilean Sea Bass, adapts really well to Atlantic Cod.  Silent Bob and I have been going meatless increasingly, as we age and as we read more and more how the agriculture of the meat industry is wrecking the environment and the quality of lives of  'the crop'. To boot, sea stocks are increasingly overfished and harmed by the increase in fish farming ... aargh! It seems we humans need to sit back on our heels and really think about what we eat, how we produce it, and how much we consume. That's a whole book of ranting, though.

I haven't bought fish in weeks and it is my birthday week. This platter of fish was my gift to myself. Easy, very spicy, but freshened up by the addition of chopped fresh herbs and lemon. This is how I did it.

marinate for about one hour

Staten Island Style Cod

adapted from the recipe in The South Beach Diet Cookbook

Serves 2 hungry people or 3 in a pinch with sides and a starter

Ingredients:

1 1/4 lbs. fresh cod fillet, rinsed, dried, and sliced to serving size

3 tbsp. olive oil

4 cloves garlic

1/4 tsp. kosher salt

1/4 tsp. ground black pepper

1/2 tsp. sweet paprika

1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes

1/2 c. chopped Italian flat leaf parsley leaves

1/4 c. chopped fresh basil leaves

1/2 lemon, 2 or 3 slices plus the juice of the rest of it.

Making the Dish:

1. Place the cod fillets in a glass pan that lets them sit in a single layer.

2. Place the olive oil and garlic in a blender bowl and whiz to a smooth aromatic paste.

3. Slather the cod with the garlic marinade paste. Coat all sides well. Cover the dish with plastic wrap and refrigerate for an hour.

4. Heat the oven to 450 degree F.

5. Place the marinated cod on a small broiler pan that has been lined with oiled foil or an oven proof grill pan.

6. Sprinkle the top of the fillets with the Kosher salt, black pepper, paprika, and red pepper flakes.

7. Place on the upper rack of the preheated oven and bake for about 20 minutes ... check the fish to make sure you don't overcook. It should flake, but not be falling apart (it will dry out if overcooked!).

8. While the fish is roasting, prep the chopped herbs.

9. Transfer the fish servings to a pretty platter, arrange the chopped herbs atop each serving, sprinkle on the lemon juice, and top with lemon slices.

10. Voila !

Note: Excellent with roasted and herbed potatoes and a simple steamed veg or green salad. Pour the white wine and enjoy !