Cod baked under a golden blanket

Yesterday I started a new eating trend. Salmon salad, hmm, the worst part is that, to see any results on the scales, it really would have to become a trend. I don’t think I’ll last.

Yesterday, while buying smoked salmon, I also spotted some lovely, slender fillets of cod — Baltic cod, no less. They caught my eye, and since I didn’t know what to do with myself that evening, I prepared them for baking today. I don’t know whether you marinate fish, but I think that’s just what I did (details in the recipe). It was supposed to be a fairly simple experiment: making something simple and healthy — fish from the oven, rather than from a frying pan dripping with fat.

Today, though, since I’ve been feeling nostalgic lately, I remembered the outstanding bacalhau I ate in Lisbon about 5 months ago (ah…). That’s Portuguese cod, so probably not from the Baltic 😉 In Portugal they usually serve this cod in a very down-to-earth way (go to Alfama, the fado district, and order fish: you’ll get either a tuna steak in the shape of a shoe sole or a thick cod fillet submerged in a sea of scalding olive oil). I can’t say this down-to-earth approach puts me off. Not at all. I like it, especially when I think back to the fado concerts and the glasses of wine I drank. Anyway, see for yourselves.

As you can see, the cod was sitting in so much olive oil that my phone refused to focus when I took the photo (or was it the wine?). And this is what the tuna from Alfama looks like (actually, it’s hiding under a pile of chips, probably out of shame at how dried out it is):

But the one I remembered was completely different. It wasn’t drowning in anything and, above all, it had a golden blanket on top. The photo is dark, but this is what it looked like.

I wanted to recreate that today (the topping, that is, because unfortunately my fillets compared with that plump Portuguese cod like models compared with the Danish health minister 😉

It didn’t turn out perfectly identical, but the taste was fairly similar. So a little taste of Portugal found its way into Primitive Kitchen today 🙂 Especially for you, and out of nostalgia. That’s why I warmly recommend it.

Recipe facts:

Preparation time: 10 minutes

Baking time: 50 minutes

Baking temperature: 180 degrees Celsius (fan oven)

Serves: 1 – 2 people

Calories: are you kidding?

Ingredients for oven-baked cod:

• 3 narrow Baltic cod fillets (filleted, but with the skin on)
• 4 tablespoons of breadcrumbs
• 1/5 of a block of butter (a 200-gram block)
• 1 tablespoon of lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon of lime juice
• 2 tablespoons of white wine
• 1 tablespoon of olive oil
• freshly ground mixed peppercorns
• a few whole mixed peppercorns
• salt

Recipe for cod under a breadcrumb blanket:

I prepared the cod the day before, but you could just as well do it 30 minutes before baking. I washed the Baltic cod fillets, dried them and put them in a bowl. I seasoned them lightly with salt and generously with freshly ground mixed peppercorns. I poured over the lime juice, lemon juice and olive oil. I sealed the container tightly and put it in the fridge (for about 14 hours in my case, but as I said, it could probably be much less).

Before baking, I gently transferred the cod to the ovenproof dish you can see in the photo and poured all the marinade over it. I added a little more salt. I added a few whole mixed peppercorns and literally 2 tablespoons of dry white wine (the cod shouldn’t be swimming in the mixture of lime juice, lemon juice, olive oil and wine — its swimming days ended when it was caught in the Baltic).

I put it in the oven (fan setting), set to 180 degrees Celsius (I didn’t preheat it). After 30 minutes, I started preparing the blanket 🙂

I melted the butter in a small frying pan (about 1/5 of a block). Once it had melted, I added 4 level tablespoons of breadcrumbs and mixed thoroughly. I spread these breadcrumbs over the top of the cod and baked it for roughly another 15 – 20 minutes. After that, the delicious cod is ready.

Importantly, the topping won’t stick to the fish: it will form a lovely baked golden blanket on top. Enjoy!