Adapted from Aaron McCargo Jr.
This is one of our favorite fish dishes, good for any time of year. We first came across it last year on our JetBlue flight back from "spring break" in Ft. Lauderdale, on which Erich was watching Big Daddy's House on Food Network.
This is not a hard recipe, but there are many small steps so the key is planning ahead and getting the timing down. To do it all at once we would need a 6-burner stove! The recipe as it's written on the web doesn't really do a good job explaining the timing, so we'll try to help with that. Speaking of timing, the recipe states that cook time is 20 minutes - that definitely does not account for prep time and even then is generous. Give yourself some time.
We have also made a few adjustments to the recipe, and our version is below. The biggest change is that we serve the fish over onion-strewn grits rather than pureed sweet potatoes. This is in part a matter of preference (although the sweet potatoes are really yummy), but mainly it makes the prep and cook time a lot quicker.
Step 1: Prep the fish
2 (6-ounce) cod fillets
Panko bread crumbs
1 egg, for egg wash
Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper
4 tablespoons grapeseed oil
1/2 lemon, juiced
1 sprig fresh thyme or 1/4 tsp. dried thyme
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Wash the fillets and dry thoroughly.
Place the bread crumbs into a shallow dish. In a separate shallow dish add 2 beaten eggs. Season both sides of the fillet with salt and pepper. Once seasoned, brush the belly side (not the skin side) of the cod with the egg. Dip the egg side into the bread crumbs.
Step 2: "Butter Sauce"
Just a few pats short of a Buerre Blanc...
We prepare the sauce in advance of the fish, but stop and keep the sauce on low before adding the butter. Save that for when the fish is coming out of the oven.
3 cups white wine (recommended: Chardonnay)
2 sprigs fresh thyme
1 shallot, sliced
2 clove garlic, smashed
2 tablespoons heavy cream
1/2 lemon, juiced
2 tablespoons cold butter
3 tablespoons chopped chives
Freshly cracked black pepper
In saucepan, add wine, sprigs of thyme, shallot and garlic. Set on back burner to allow the wine to reduce. Once the sauce is reduced to about 1/2 cup, strain and add the heavy cream, and lemon juice and bring to a slight simmer.
Step 3: Brussels sprouts
Using a vegetable steaming basket, begin steaming the sprouts. As they steam, move on to step 4 and begin cooking the fish.
When the sprouts are just soft enough to partially insert a fork, remove them from the steam. Heat up a little butter and oil (I use lemon olive oil from Wegmans) in a pan, and sear the sprouts until they just begin to blacken a little.
Step 4: Cooking the fish and the grits
In a cast iron skillet (or other oven-safe saucepan) add grapeseed oil. Before placing fish into pan, make sure the skillet is very hot. Sear only 1 side of the fish (the side with the bread crumbs). Once 1 side is seared, place the skillet in the oven for about 3 to 4 minutes until cooked.
Onion-strewn grits for two:
1 1/2 c water
1/2 c Quaker 5-minute grits
1/4 of a large red onion, sliced
Splash of fresh lemon juice
Sear the onions until nearly blackened. Boil the water and then slowly stir in the grits. Bring the water back to a boil then reduce heat to low, cook for 5 minutes, stirring often.
Add the onions and lemon juice to the cooked grits.
Once the fish is cooked, flip it over so that the golden breaded side is face-up. Let sit, and finish the sauce by whisk in the cold butter and once melted add the fresh chives and season with black pepper.
To serve, place the grits in the center of the plate. Place the fish, breaded side up, over the grits. Spoon the butter sauce over the fish. Arrange the sprouts on the side of the plate.
Additional tips
-We recommend a big, bold Chardonnay to accompany this meal - it stands up very well to the flavors of the dish. Tonight we opened a bottle of Muirwood 2008 Chardonnay, which was incredibly buttery and toasty, and a great value at only $10 from Total Wine.
-The recipe calls for grapeseed oil, but you can substitute EVOO. That being said, we do recommend the grapeseed oil for pan searing fish because you can get the pan hotter before adding the fish, and it has a nice nutty flavor.
"We're gonna need a bigger stove..." - Meesh
"We're gonna need a bigger fan too!" - Erich
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