Lately, every time I go grocery shopping, I buy leeks. A few months ago I took a cast-iron cooking class at SurLaTable.com and one of the recipes included roasted chicken with a leek sauce. The sauce was scrumptious and I have been adding leeks to everything ever since. I have worked on a variety of recipes incorporating leeks. There is a bit of tartness and a bit of bitterness that leeks bring in and I think this works in perfect harmony with the fish.
This latest recipe is for cod. However, I think any meaty white fish will do – haddock, mahi mahi, grouper, striped bass. The lead violin in this recipe is the leeks. They play along with the onions and garlic and shine brighter with the addition of mustard and apple cider vinegar. Leeks turn an ordinary piece of fish into a star.
Ingredients
Serves 4
- 2 medium fish filets enough for 4 (1.25 lbs of cod used here), cut into 4 pieces
- 1-2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 medium yellow or Vidalia onion
- 3-4 cloves of garlic
- 1 tbsp paprika
- 1 tbsp kosher salt
- 1 large lemon
- 1 large leek
- 1 tbsp stone ground mustard (or Dijon if you don’t have any)
- 1-2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
Directions:
1. Slice and chop the onion and slice or mince garlic.
2. Heat a large (ideally oven-proof) skillet and add olive oil, onions, garlic, paprika and squeeze half of the lemon.
3. Wash the leeks. It helps to cut each leek in half, fan it out and rinse the dirt out in between each layer with cold water. If you skip this step, you will get sandy grit in your recipe, which doesn’t taste that great.
4. Thinly slice the leeks, keeping mostly the white part. Add to the skillet.
5. Cook the leeks for 3-4 minutes until soft, add lemon juice and salt, stir and continue cooking covered a few minutes on low heat.
This is also a great time to add a herb – which is optional. I like adding dill to fish, or parsley. Tarragon is a great pairing with leeks but I opted to go with no herbs here.
6. Add 1 tbsp stone-ground mustard, 1-2 tbsp apple cider vinegar (depending on how much tartness you like) and cook another 2-3 minutes.
7. Preheat oven to 400 F.
8. Push the leek mixture aside and place your fish, scale side up on the pan. Squeeze the rest of your lemon juice over the fish and cook for a few minutes. Don’t over-cook, especially if you have a thinner piece of fish.
9. Now you are ready to flip the fish over and turn off the heat. (If your pan is not oven-proof, move the fish to a baking sheet, otherwise proceed with the pan.) Cover each piece with a part of the leek mixture.
10. Place in the 400 degree oven for 15-20 min. Cod is ready once it’s flaky. Enjoy with quinoa and your favorite veggies.
