Baked Cod with Tomato Puree and Avocado Pesto
Ingredients
Baked Cod
- 1 pound Cod, cut in about 6 ounce pieces
- 8 Tablespoons Butter
- 2 Tablespoons Lemon Juice
- Salt and Pepper, to taste
- Lemon Slices (for garnish)
- Fresh Parsley or Microgreens (for garnish)
Tomato Puree
- 1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
- 1 Tablespoon Butter
- 1 cup Red Onion, diced
- 2 cloves Garlic, smashed
- 2 cups Tomatoes, coarse diced
- 1 Tablespoon Fresh Parsley, coarse chopped
- 1/4 teaspoon Smoked Paprika
- 1/4 cup White Wine
- 1 teaspoon Lemon Juice
- 1 1/2 teaspoons Sherry Vinegar
- 1/2 cup Vegetable Stock
- 2 Tablespoons Heavy Cream
- Salt and Pepper, to taste
Avocado Pesto
- 2 Avocados, peeled and pitted
- 4 cloves Garlic, smashed
- 1/2-1 cup Fresh Basil
- 6 Tablespoons Olive Oil
- 2 Tablespoons Lemon Juice
- 1/2 cup Parmesan Cheese
- 1/2 cup Cashews
- Salt and Pepper, to taste
Instructions
Baked Cod
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Heat the oven to 400°F.
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Season both sides of the cod with salt and pepper. Place the pieces in a baking pan. Cut the butter in 1 tablespoon pieces and spread around the pan. Add lemon juice to the pan and cover.
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Bake for 10 minutes. Take the baking pan out of the oven and uncover. Use a spoon to baste the fish with the melted butter sauce. Recover and bake for another 10 minutes.
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The fish is done when the center is flaky. To test, use a fork and gently pull one piece of fish apart slightly to check the doneness. If the fish needs to cook more, do so at 2 minute intervals to avoid over cooking.
Note: if the fish is slightly underdone, keep the tray out of the oven and leave it covered. The fish will continue to cook slowly.
Tomato Puree
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When you start the oven to heat up, heat olive oil and butter in a medium saucepan over medium to medium-high heat. Add the red onions and season with salt and pepper. Cook until they are soft, about 5 minutes.
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Add the garlic and stir in for about 1 minute. Add in the tomatoes, smoked paprika and parsley. Season with salt and pepper. Cook until the tomatoes are soft, about 5 minutes.
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Next, add in the white wine, sherry vinegar, and lemon juice. Stir these in for about 1 minutes.
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Pour in the vegetable stock and let it reduce by half, about 5-7 minutes.
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Use an immersion blender or a standard blender to blend this into a puree. Taste and make adjustments to the salt.
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Stir in the heavy cream and remove the saucepan form the heat.
Avocado Pesto
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Place all the ingredients in a mini processor or blender and blend until all the ingredient are mixed to for a creamy paste. You will need to periodically use a spatula to know down the sides to push unblended bits to the bottom to make sure everything gets blended.
Note: some of the cashews may still be in chunks which adds to the overall flavor and texture. If you want a creamier consistency, first blend the cashews and olive oil together to form a paste, then add the rest of the ingredients.
Recipe Notes
Ingredient Notes & Substitutions
Cod - you can substitute pretty much any white fish - Haddock, Pollack, Mahi Mahi, Hake, Grouper.
Fresh Curly Parsley - curly parsley has a stronger flavor that flat leaf parsley. I like it in my fish meals as it adds a bold touch. But you can certainly use flat leaf parsley instead.
Microgreens - I love using microgreens in many meals. They are super easy to grow.
Smoked Paprika - this adds a subtle hint of smokiness, but it does have a little spice at times. So you can substitute sweet paprika and add a few drops of liquid smoke to get the smoky note.
Sherry Vinegar - this vinegar adds a tart sweetness to the sauce. You can substitute balsamic vinegar or white balsamic vinegar to get a similar result.
Cashews - pesto traditionally has pine nuts, which is a great substitute for this recipe. However, the cashews add a buttery flavor that you don't get from pine nuts.