Cod Picatta over Polenta

I slaved away in my yard, did my finest whorin’ + chorin’ and I did it for the moment I’m currently living in - sipping on a negroni in my backyard, dogs + Jordan in tow, and dreaming of the best thing we ate this week. This Cod Picatta gave us life this week! It was bright, refreshing, and such a good Summer meal. My signature joke was that we finally took our cod to Italy. Anytime we’re making fish, it’s either fish tacos or something with an Asian flare. Not this time! We pan seared the fish, served over a bed of warm, creamy polenta (my favorite that we don’t have nearly enough!), and ate is alongside blistered tomatoes. Made a little pan sauce with capers + lemon, and it was so good. We loved it so much we made it a 2nd night this week, and it was special enough for us to enjoy it at our dining table. Such a fun new way to do an at-home fish cook.

 
 

This is the best thing I ate all week!

Seriously, it was a grade A Summer meal. Light, bright, so tasty. It was just one of those meals that turned out so perfectly and even exceeded our expectations, which was a pleasant surprise. It was Summer-y it was so flavorful. We were one step away from licking our bowls!

To chop or not to chop your capers?

 
 

I told Jordan that capers are my mystery ingredient. Going into this dinner, I wasn’t totally sure I even liked them. The second issue is I was unsure if when going into the sauce it’s a situation where we leave them as is, or give them a chop. The answer is still undetermined at our house. I blame it on being an unrefined home cook + being too lazy to Google if capers should be chopped or not. We gave ours a “rough chop” which was my happy medium. Whether it was the correct culinary approach is undetermined, but the final product was 10/10.

The sauce + the polenta are actual heaven

A bite of the tender fish + a bit of the polenta, scooped up with a little bit of sauce. It was the perfect bite!

My kind of meal where my husband did all the fish stuff (like a true saint) + I tackled everything else. For us, it’s an ideal way to cook side by side, and I’m glad we loved our final product so much!

 
 

For the blistered tomatoes

  • 2 c. cherry or other small varietal tomatos

  • 4 cloves of garlic

  • EVOO

  • salt + pepper

For the cod picatta

  • 2 pieces of cod (enough for 2 people)

  • 1/3 c. flour

  • salt + pepper

  • EVOO

  • 1 c. broth

  • juice of 1 lemon (about 3 tbsp)

  • 1/4 c. capers

  • 2 tbsp fresh parsley

For the polenta

  • 2 c. water

  • 1/2 c. polenta

  • salt + pepper

  • 1-1/2 tbsp butter

  • 1/4 c. parmesan

For the tomatoes - Preheat the oven to 350. Add the tomatoes, garlic a tablespoon of EVOO, and salt + pepper to an oven safe ramekin. Roast the tomatoes for 35-40 minutes. The tomatoes should be lightly browned+ blistered once they’re done cooking.

For the polenta - Bring a pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Once boiling, slowly pour in the polenta, whisking constantly as you add it in. Whisk the polenta + water for 5-6 minutes, then reduce the heat to low and cover the pot to let the polenta continue to cook. Cook the polenta for another 30 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes or so. Move to making the cod.

For the cod - Start by prepping the cod filets. In a shallow bowl, mix together the flour and a generous portion of salt + pepper. Dredge the filets in the flour, shaking off any excess, and let them rest on a plate.

Heat a medium skillet over medium heat. Add in 2 tbsp of EVOO. When the oil is hot, add in the cod. You want to cook it until it’s crispy on both sides - about 2-3 minutes on each side. When the cod has cooked, remove the fish from the pan to rest on a plate (place under a warmer if you have one) + immediately deglaze the pan with the broth + lemon juice. Add in the capers. Bring the mixture to a simmer + let the broth continue to simmer until it has reduced by half. Stir in the parsley, and reduce the heat to low until your ready to eat.

To finish the polenta, stir in the butter. Do this while the polenta remains over low heat. Once melted + mixed in, stir in the parmesan a small handful at a time until all of the cheese has been incorporated.

Plate it up by dolloping the polenta onto your plate, topping with a crispy cod filet, and splitting the caper sauce between the 2 plates. Nestle a spoonful of the blistered tomatoes on the side. Totally delicious!

Lesley ZehnerComment