Bought a kilo of really nice cod fillets from Seafood Maestro, some I used for the Fish Pie. I still had a few pieces left over, so I trawled the Internet for a recipe which is relatively simple to make, and with ingredients which will allow the flavor of the cod to really shine through. This search led me to discover this amazing blog The Mediterranean Dish, and I have a feeling this won’t be the first recipe I would try out from here.
True enough, this was really delicious. I screwed up the coating process a bit, because I was rushing this dish out for dinner I completely neglected to 1) take out the fish from the fridge a bit earlier to bring it to room temperature, and 2) to pat the fish dry thoroughly. Thankfully the fish cooked fine despite being a bit cold, but for the first few wet pieces the coating had so much trouble sticking. Nonetheless this setback did not make this dish any less yummy, and the whole family loved it.
This recipe will also work well with other firm white fish, such as kerapu, ikan merah, siakap, etc. Given the mild flavor of the cod and this dish was so very good, imagine the ‘sweeter’ type of fresh fish when prepared this way. Yum!
Mediterranean Baked Fish
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1/4 cup plus 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- 1/3 cup plain flour
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander (ketumbar)
- 3/4 teaspoon sweet paprika
- 3/4 teaspoon ground cumin (jintan putih)
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 700 grams (4 to 6 pieces) cod fillets OR other firm white fish like grouper (kerapu) or snapper (ikan merah)
- 5 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/4 cup cilantro (daun ketumbar), chopped
Directions
Preheat oven to 200 degrees C (fan 180 degrees C).
In a medium sized, shallow bowl, add the lemon juice, 5 tablespoons olive oil and melted butter, and stir to combine. Set aside.
In another medium sized, shallow bowl, add the flour, coriander, paprika, cumin, salt and black pepper, and whisk to combine. Set aside.
Pat the cod fillets dry using paper towels (very important step else the coating won’t stick!). Working with one piece at a time, dip the fish into the lemon juice mixture.
Dip into the flour mixture to coat completely. Shake off any excess flour. Repeat for the remaining fish, and reserve the lemon juice mixture.
In a large cast iron or oven-safe skillet over medium high heat, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil.
Add the fish and cook, until lightly browned but not to fully cook, 1 to 2 minutes on each side. Remove the skillet from heat.
In the bowl containing the lemon juice mixture, add the garlic and stir to combine.
Drizzle the lemon juice mixture over the fish.
Transfer to the oven and bake, until the fish begins to flake easily with a fork, 8 to 10 minutes.
Garnish with the chopped cilantro. Serve immediately with rice. Enjoy!
