Pan Roasted Cod Recipe

Casey Barber | Good. Food. Stories.

This pan roasted cod recipe calls for a sundried tomato relish that perfectly blends with the delicious fish.

Pan-Roasted Cod Photo

Despite living mere miles away from the Atlantic in New Jersey, fish seems like a luxury to me.

It's a silly mental perspective, given that a good fillet cooks in half the time of a basic chicken breast and is twice as flavorful, but the idea of getting myself over to the market for a fresh piece of cod or salmon sometimes feels like too much of a hassle when the forecast is gray for days and the snowplows have made mountains of slush higher than my head.

In Sicily, where the waters of the Mediterranean are teeming with seafood of every stripe, from squid to swordfish to shrimp to sea urchin, it's a different story. (The abundant sunshine and lack of January snowpocalypse-style blizzards probably helps, too.)

So when the temperatures drop and the prospect of seeing a beach is out of the question, I'll start cooking as if I were on a yacht somewhere off the coast of Italy instead. I might be wearing five layers of hooded sweatshirts and fleecy slippers, but in my mind I'm in a blingy one-piece swimsuit with a crazy flowy patterned caftan, soaking up the rays and the blue waves while chowing down on a big seafood platter.

Pan-Roasted Cod Picture

Typically, you'll see olives and capers paired together in Sicilian cuisine, but their similarly saline flavor seems redundant when I've got an entire pantry at my disposal. Sundried tomatoes have an earthier, umami-rich quality that brings depth and a hint of sweetness to this relish, and when matched with fragrant flat-leaf parsley, the simple chopped topping becomes so pungent and savory that it's hard not to take spoonfuls straight from the bowl.

The cool relish, which brightens a warm fillet of quick-roasted cod in the recipe below, has so many applications beyond seafood: as a topping for bruschetta or crackers, folded into penne for warm or cold pasta salad, as stuffing for chicken breast or pork chops, or with cooked whole grains for a Mediterranean tabbouleh.

Look for U.S.-caught Pacific or Alaskan cod, or hook-and-line-caught Atlantic cod at your neighborhood fish counter to keep on the good side of sustainable fish consumption.

(The Monterey Bay Aquarium has a great Seafood Watch app for both Android and iPhone that helps you make those game-time decisions at the store.)

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Pan Roasted Cod Recipe

    4 Servings

Ingredients

Relish:
  • 8 tomatoes Sundried Tomatoes
  • 2 tablespoons Capers
  • 1 clove Garlic, minced
  • Extra Virgin Olive Oil
  • 2 tablespoons Fresh Parsley, minced
Cod:
  • 2 tablespoons Olive Oil
  • 1 tablespoon Unsalted Butter
  • 1/4 cup Cake Flour
  • 1/2 pound Cod Fillet, at room temperature
  • serving Kosher Salt
  • dash of Black Pepper

Directions

  1. Coarsely chop the sundried tomatoes (after softening as noted above, if necessary) and the capers.
  2. Toss in a small mixing bowl with the garlic clove and add just enough olive oil to coat. Let the relish marinate while you prepare the cod.
  3. Heat the olive oil and butter in a heavy-bottomed 12-inch skillet over medium heat and place the flour in a wide, shallow dish or small rimmed baking sheet.
  4. Pat the cod fillets dry and sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper. Dredge the cod in the flour, shaking off any excess, and add to the pan (in batches, if necessary).
  5. Cook for about 5 minutes per side, flipping as needed, until the fish develops a pale golden crust and is just cooked through.
  6. Return to the reserved, marinated relish and stir in the minced parsley, adding a teaspoon or two more of the good olive oil as needed.
  7. Spoon the relish liberally over the cod fillets and serve immediately.

Notes

  • You will NOT be using the whole 1/4 cup of flour; just enough to dredge the fish
  • The amount of salt and pepper on the fish is variable, as is the amount of olive oil in the relish.
  • If using dry-packed sundried tomatoes, place them in a heat-safe bowl and cover with a few inches of boiling water, just until they're submerged.
  • Place a heat-safe plate or lid over the bowl and soak the tomatoes for 15 minutes to soften. Oil-packed sundried tomatoes can be used as is.

Published:
Modified:
Author:
Cooking Method:
Roasted
Cuisine:
Italian
Category:
Dinners
Tags:
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Related Recipes:
Italian Recipes, Cod Recipes, Dinner Recipes, Fish Recipes, Roasted Recipes
Recipe Yields:
4 servings
Prep Time:
Cook Time:
Total Time:
Related Post:
Published:
Author: Casey Barber
Recipe Yields: 4 servings
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 45 minutes

Nutrition Facts

Servings Per Recipe 4

Amount Per Serving
Calories from Fat 76
Calories 169

% Daily Value*
15%
Total Fat 10g
11%
  Saturated Fat 2g
5%
Sodium 128mg
3%
Total Carbohydrate 8g
0%
  Dietary Fiber 0g
  Sugars 0g
20%
Protein 10g

* Percent Daily Value are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.
** Nutrition Facts are estimated based on ingredients and data provided by Fat Secret. Please consult a doctor if you have special dietary needs.
Casey Barber

About Casey

Casey loves the Mets, Pittsburgh, and all things food, which she writes about on Good. Food. Stories. She's sharing her heritage and authentic Italian recipes as our Italian Fanatic.

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