Tuesday, June 20, 2006
Baked Cod with Creamy Sauce
Last night I saw the most beautiful home I have ever been in. A colleague invited me for dinner to her Georgian house on Fitzwilliam Square and I was absolutely charmed. Not only is the building entirely intact (including the most wonderful antique toilet), but they have also kept the old furniture in place, all the family heirlooms are still on the shelves and the paintings from the past generations still hang on the walls. There is a scent of old books in the air that reminded me of my grandfather's apartment in Prague and an atmosphere of cultured dignity prevails that made me wish I could stay forever and listen to the old stories (and new gossip, I admit). But unfortunately a Hausbesetzung (this is the German term for 'squatting', which is literally translated as house occupation, a term much more befitting of the act and much less condescending than its English equivalent) was out of the question even though the socialistically inclined landlady might have sympathised with a poor couple taking over a posh home.Instead, we just had a lovely dinner of baked potatoes with all the trimmings with her husband and kids before we parted to get ready for work the next day. I'm seriously getting sick of the old routine again. I need to take a few days off in the not too distant future to prevent myself from going crazy - and to finish that dissertation. I'm still not even half way through. But that was not my main concern today. My attention was occupied by the large amounts of fish in the fridge that really wanted to go. I trust the fishmonger at Temple Bar market when he tells me that it can be kept until today, but the fresher fish is the better. So I precooked the salmon chunks for a fish pie tomorrow and then got on with tonight's dinner of baked cod with tomatoes and a creamy sauce.
a large cod fillet (400 to 500g), picked over for bones and halved
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tomato, sliced
4 tbsp crème fraiche
1 ball of mozzarella, sliced (alternatively 100g grated cheese)
50ml white wine
Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius. Heat the olive oil in an ovenproof frying pan over medium heat. Add the cod and sear on both sides until beginning to brown, about 2 minutes per side. Remove the pan from the stove and allow to cool slightly.
Spread a tablespoon of crème fraiche on each of the cod fillets and lay the tomato slices over the top. Don't wait too long otherwise the cream will melt away. Cover the tomato with the cheese and bake the whole lot in the oven until the cheese has melted and is starting too brown and the fish is cooked, about 8 to 10 minutes (I gave it about 12 minutes, which, as you can see above, was a tad too long). Remove the pan from the oven, then the fish from the pan. Set aside in a warm place. Heat the pan on the stove over medium high heat to bring the juices to the boil. Reduce by half. Add the wine and reduce by half again. Turn off the heat and add the remaining 2 tablespoons of crème fraiche. Do not bring back to the boil. Arrange the fish on a plate with some boiled potatoes (or even mash) and vegetables (or salad or nothing else) and drizzle with the creamy sauce.
Christine at 9:28 pm
