Recently my parents and youngest brother visited us and my dad wanted me to cook something for them so I thought why not cook some local fish with a Mediterranean touch for all of us. So, whilst we were at Doncaster market, I visited my friend Vince of Penny's Fisheries and got a good deal on some fresh cod. Then on our way home I browsed the net for ideas whilst thinking what I had in our pantry at home and I found a recipe on the BBC Food website and adapted it to our own taste. So, off we headed to the supermarket to buy the rest of the vegetables that I was missing at home. Since cod is not everyone's favourite fish as some might say that it is quite bland on flavour I decided to add some natural flavour enhancers that made this dish super tasty and flavourful. I added some more herbs and capers. As you might imagine this amount of ingredients fed all five of us so feel free so adapt the ingredient amounts. Give it a go, you can use any fish you like and also vary/omit the vegetables to your liking. For 5-6 people you will need...
- 1.2kg fresh large cod fillets
- 4 red sweet peppers, chopped into medium sized-pieces
- 3 yellow sweet peppers, chopped into medium sized-pieces
- 2 red onions, diced into 8 pieces
- 4 garlic cloves, crushed or finely chopped
- 250g cherry tomatoes
- A large handful of green olives
- 2 tablespoons capers
- 500ml (2 cups) tomato passata
- Fresh basil leaves
- Fresh or dried mint leaves
- Some dried oregano
- Dried parsley
- Freshly ground black pepper
- Extra virgin olive oil
How to...
- Preheat the oven to 220°C/425°F/Gas Mark 7.
- In a large bowl put the chopped peppers, onions, garlic, cherry tomatoes, olives, capers and some olive oil and mix well. Divide the mixed vegetables between two large oven dishes and put in the preheated oven for about 20 minutes.
- In the meantime cut the large cod fillets in two pieces. When the vegetables are done, leave the oven on, take the vegetables out of the oven and pour 250ml (about 1 cup) of passata on top of the vegetables.
- Now, put the cod fillets on top of the partially cooked vegetables. Drizzle with olive oil and scatter with some fresh basil leaves, mint, oregano and parsley. Freshly grind some black pepper and put into the hot oven for a further 20 minutes until fish is flaky and falling apart. Serve hot!
Enjoy!!
R&A
