Happy Valentines Day!

This dish is always a culinary seduction meal hit - and a beautiful way to deliver an edible rose of love. Black Cod is one of my favorites and as long as your fish is fresh, all you really need to do is grill or broil the fish with some olive oil, salt and pepper and the sublime taste of this mild white fish will shine through.

To add variety and to please the most discerning of gourmands, try this Mediterranean variation. The fish is pan seared, served over a bed of garlic infused tomatoes, kalamata olives, sauted leeks, and garnished with a roasted artichoke heart, and topped with toasted pinoli nuts. Just divine!


Roasted Potatoes (start this 45 minutes before serving time)
1 lb of fingerling potatoes, cut in half lengthwise
fresh rosemary
1/8 cup of olive oil

Preheat oven to 350. Place fingerling potatoes and rosemary in a small roasting pan. Add olive oil and using your hands, mix all ingredients together. Roast potatoes for 35-45 mintues until you can easily slip a fork into the center of the potato. I take one out and taste if to be sure it's the preferred texture and doneness. If need be, place potatoes on paper towels if you need to soak up excess olive oil before serving.

Black Cod
2 - 4 cod fillets, you can use black cod (preferred) or any type of cod, or any fresh mild white fish, at least 1" thick
3 tbsp grapeseed oil
1/4 cup of flour, with a dash of salt and pepper

Sauted Vegetables
1 cup of leeks, sliced in circular 1/4" rings, thoroughly washed and drained
1/2 cup of cherry tomatoes, cut in half
1/4 cup of pitted calamata olives sliced in half
3 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced
1 tbsp olive oil
garnish - 1 roasted artichoke heart (can be bought from specialty food stores)
Toasted pinoli nuts
*I don't use salt or pepper for this dish as the olives are a bit salty

Starting with the vegetables, add 1 tbsp of olive oil to a skillet and heat over high heat, when the oil is hot, turn to medium high and add the leeks; saute for about 5 minutes. Next add the olives and tomatoes. Saute over low heat for 4-5 minutes. Make a space in the center of the skillet and add garlic slices. After a few minutes,.mix together with all vegetables, and add two artichokes in the center to warm. Keep skillet warm over super low heat while preparing the rest of the meal..

Now the fish. Add a dash of salt and pepper to flour and mix together. Dust the fish with flour and coat all sides, top and bottom. Add grapeseed oil to a heat separate cast iron skillet, heating until hot over high heat. Place the fish in the center of the skillet, skin side down if there is skin on the fish. Lower the heat to medium and saute for about 1 minute, slightly pressing the fish down into the pan. Shake the fish while cooking so it does not stick to the pan. Cook for about 3 minutes per side, until the fish opague and flaky. Remove the fish and cover to keep warm.

GARNISH: Cilantro Puree and toasted Pinoli Nuts
1 cup of cilantro
1 cup of grapeseed oil
1/4 tsp lemon zest
1 clove of garlic
salt to taste

Blanch the cilantro for 10 seconds in boiling water, drain and place in a bowl of ice water. Chop the cilantro and place all ingredients in a blender. Puree until smooth.

Just before serving, in a hot frying pan, dry and clean (no oil or butter) quickly toast pinoli nuts (just to warm and soften). This will bring out the flavor. Be sure to do this quickly as they tend to brown/blacken pretty fast

Plating the dish: Place a mound of the sauted tomatoes, olives and leeks in a dish, top with a piece of fish. Drizzle the cilantro puree on top of the cod. Place a roasted artichoke in the center of the fish and fan out to make the artichoke look like a rose. Garnish with toasted pinoli nuts.  Serve the roasted potatoes in a separate dish. Pure magic! 

This recipe was inspired by a recipe I tore out of a magazine a year ago. Unfortunately it did not have the magazine's name on the page. I've made quite a few alterations, the only thing left intact is the Cilantro Puree.