In case you spend the summer time someplace the place crab truffles and fish and chips are available, bless. In case you don’t, I’ve bought one thing to evoke these classics and tide you over till you’re residing your greatest life seaside.
This merely roasted cod filet is paired with Outdated Bay-dusted smashed potatoes and a punchy tartar sauce to dip and douse over all the pieces.
Begin by filling a 3-quart saucepan with water and a couple of massive pinches of kosher salt. Similar to when blanching asparagus for my marinated bean salad — and much more thematically on level now — the water needs to be practically as salty because the ocean. In case you’re nervous that you simply haven’t made it salty sufficient, style it. Throw in a half-pound of small potatoes. (Fingerlings work, as do some other selection that measures about 1½ inches in diameter.) Flip the warmth to excessive and look ahead to the water to simmer. As soon as it does, set a timer for 9 minutes.
In the meantime, because the potatoes are heating, make your tartar sauce. (Don’t neglect to maintain one eye on the pot so you possibly can see when the water begins to bubble.) In a small bowl, mix ½ cup mayonnaise, 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard, 1½ teaspoons lemon juice, 1 tablespoon finely chopped pickles (I’m keen on cornichons), 1 tablespoon finely chopped capers, and a couple cranks of freshly floor black pepper. These are all nonnegotiable. The place you’ve some discretion is with the opposite elements. I add 2 tablespoons of finely chopped dill, however I’ve learn a ton of tartar sauce recipes and others desire parsley, chives, or a mix of herbs. Some toss in a little bit of finely chopped shallot or white onion, too. No matter you select, combine all the pieces collectively.
You might discover, by the way in which, that I didn’t add salt to the tartar sauce — an uncommon omission for many any recipe. However I discover the capers and pickles deliver sufficient from the brine, particularly because the sauce sits.
Check your potatoes. They need to be tender sufficient in order that the prongs of a fork slip simply into the flesh of a bigger one. In the event that they want one other minute, allow them to preserve cooking — however they’ll be very near carried out, so don’t go far. As soon as the potatoes are prepared, drain them right into a colander.
Because the potatoes cool a bit, prep your fish. Preheat the oven to 325 levels. Place a ½-pound filet of cod right into a small baking dish (I personal a 9-inch) or onto 1 / 4 sheet pan. Each these items of cookware are typically helpful, however in the event you prepare dinner for your self (and even two folks) with any regularity, I can’t suggest them sufficient. Drizzle the cod in a little bit of olive oil, sprinkle it with kosher salt, and squeeze a couple of tablespoon of recent lemon juice over high. (That ought to require half of a juicy lemon, although you don’t must measure precisely right here.)
Set the fish apart for a few minutes when you return to your potatoes. Utilizing one other quarter sheet pan or a big plate, prepare the potatoes in a fair layer throughout the floor, and smash each down with the underside of a measuring cup or consuming glass. You wish to apply strain evenly and gently so you find yourself with flat-sided spheres which can be principally intact. However don’t fear if some items break off; these will get extra-crispy.
Put the fish within the oven for quarter-hour.
Whereas it’s cooking, coat the underside of a medium cast-iron skillet with olive oil. Once more, you don’t must measure precisely right here, however this isn’t the second to be frightened of utilizing an excessive amount of oil; the thought is to imitate the crunch of french fries. Flip the warmth to medium-high and layer in your potatoes evenly. Fry them on one aspect till they’re scorching and golden brown, about six minutes, then flip each over with a spatula. Sprinkle 2 teaspoons Outdated Bay excessive, and allow them to crisp up on the opposite aspect, one other 4 or 5 minutes. (I like including the seasoning midway by means of the full prepare dinner time as a result of there’s no probability it can find yourself burnt and bitter, nevertheless it nonetheless has a second to bloom and grow to be further fragrant within the sizzling fats.)
Kill the warmth on the potatoes and toss them round in order that the Outdated Bay coats every bit extra evenly. Take the cod out of the oven. It needs to be opaque and flake simply while you press down on the highest. Serve the cod with a pile of potatoes and the tartar sauce, plus an additional lemon wedge for squeezing on high.
I may not be capable to ship the sandy ft, salty hair, and really explicit sort of starvation that comes after a day on the ocean — however this dinner will hit irrespective of the place you’re.
Emma Wartzman is the kitchen and eating author at New York Journal’s the Strategist.
Extra picture illustration credit: plate picture by Emma Wartzman
