Not smoked, but fresh: marinated and grilled sablefish

Or, as we may call it, ragazzi, black cod.    Not enough of you know this fish, and that is a shame.  It is sustainable ( a very good point), it is delicious, and it is dense.  In fact, to Annalena's taste, the fish is about as dense as is swordfish.  If you like that kind of texture, you must investigate the fish.

Most of us know the fish in its smoked form, when it is always called sable fish.  "Smoked sable on a bagel." Ever wonder about it, or did you assume?  That's why we have dictionaries.

Two "negatives" here for us, amici, and Annalena should lay them out real clearly.  First, this is not a local fish.  It is arctic.  It's season is NOW, so if you're going to eat it, now's the time.  The second: this is a very expensive fish.  When Annalena bought this last week, it was 30 dollars a pound.  She can console herself with the fact that she is buying line caught, well managed catch, and is only buying the stuff once in a while, but these are, of course, factors that the cook must keep in mind.

Anyway, when you buy black cod, or fresh sable, you will probably get a large piece with the skin on.  Don't try to remove the skin, but when the fish is cooked, don't eat it.  Annalena did not find it that digestible, nor did the Guyman.  But it will separate very easily from the meat.  

You should also know that, given the density, you can probably eat a smaller portion of this than you would another fish - if you can.  It is very, VERY good.  BUT... again, ragazzi, it is very good, and very dense, because it is filled with oil.  And since these are oils from a coldwater fish, they are very dense, rather than the oils of , say, bluefish.  Still, don't let it sit around.  Use it the day you buy it, or the next day, if absolutely necessary.  No later.

In the last blog, Annalena gave you a very easy soup recipe.  Here comes one for fish.  You may not believe the simplicity of this, but here it goes.    You need two tablespoons of peppercorns (black ones), and two tablespoons of coriander seeds.  You also need a teaspoon and a half of salt, and two or three cloves of garlic, chopped.

Put the peppercorns and coriander seeds in a grinder, and pulverize them to rough.  Mix them with the garlic and the salt.  Now, take your sablefish/black cod, and skin side down, put that mix on the skin.  Put it all in the fridge, and let it sit there, for the day.

When  you're ready to cook, turn your oven to the broiler point, at least ten minutes before you want to cook.  In that time, get a glass or ceramic baking dish ( a small one), and rub olive oil over the bottom.  Dust the spice mix off of the fish.  Annalena's original recipe said that there might be accumulated liquid and to get rid of it.  Fair enough, but Annalena saw no liquid.

Put this into your oven, about 4-5 inches from the broiler, and leave it for a good ten minutes.   That seems like a long time, but you need that because of the thickness and density of the fish.  It will flake some, when it's ready.  Take it out of the oven, plate it in portions, and put some lemon with it.

And that's it.  Now could it get more easy? Well, yes it can.  Use this method for cooking the fish whenever you get it.  If you don't have coriander, use just peppercorns.  Or use nothing.  Just salt and pepper it.  Or make your own kind of music - OOPS - she means spice blend.

And as Ms Garten has said  "how easy is that?"

Now be warned, ragazzi. You have gotten a very easy soup recipe from Annalena, and now, an ABSURDLY easy fish recipe.  Next time around, to paraphrase Ms. Rupaul:  you're gonna WORK