Cod with crust
Serves 4
We've borrowed the method for this from Gary Rhodes but simplified the ingredients. He describes the end result as 'a tower of flavours'.
Ingredients
- 4 cod fillet steaks
- 1 tbsp plain flour
- Salt and freshly ground white pepper
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 100g / 4oz unsalted butter
- 3-4 tbsp fish stock or water
- 900g / 2lb baby leaf spinach, washed
- Juice of 1 lemon
- 450g / 1lb mashed potatoes
- 100g / 4oz parmesan or mature cheddar cheese, grated
Method
- Lightly flour and season the cod with salt and pepper. Heat a frying pan with the oil and 25g / 1oz of the butter until really hot, then add the cod and cook for about 3-4 minutes on each side, keeping the pan hot, until the fish is golden brown.
- While the fish is cooking, bring the stock or water to the boil with 25g / 1oz of butter. Add the spinach leaves and stir for 2-3 minutes. Season, remove the spinach when tender and continue to boil the remaining juices. Whisk in the remaining butter to make a spinach butter sauce, then add the lemon juice.
- Warm the mashed potatoes and mix in the cheese.
- To serve, spoon the potato on to plates and sit some spinach on it, then arrange the fish on top of the spinach. Pour the spinach butter sauce around.
- This also works very well with other white fish such as halibut, haddock, and turbot
