Revisiting the past: seared cod, with salmoriglio sauce

Everything old is new again, except us.  Isn't that the case, ragazzi?  Sigh.  Yes, let us sigh, collectively.  Nearly 5 years ago (has it been  THAT long that Annalena has been entertaining you?  Yes, it has),  Annalena wrote an entry on that wonderful Sicilian sauce, salmoriglio.  You can find it be searching the website.  And at that time she wrote, because this is what she knew, that salmoriglio was Sicilian in origin, and used almost exclusively on tuna and swordfish.  These are the mainstays of Sicilian fish cooking (except for sardines and octopus and... oh well..  The sauce was always used on these fish).   Recently, however, Annalena saw a recipe for salmoriglio on halibut.

In her palate like mind, Annalena could "taste" the dish.  Yes, this would work.  And it would probably work with something less expensive than halibut.

Halibut is a west coast fish.  If you can find Atlantic halibut, you should NOT buy it, you should NOT eat it, and you should scold the fishmonger.  The supplies of Atlantic are just about gone.  Pacific, however, is very abundant, and readily available... at 30 plus dollars a pound.    Annalena does not mind spending money on good fish (and her source of halibut is always very good), but she began to think:  it is still cold weather, the markets are filled with white flesh fish, and just last weekend, the Guyman mentioned how much he liked cod.

Guyman NEVER mentions what he likes.  When he does, it's cause for taking notes.  Well, if you know a bit about your fish, you know that cod, like halibut, is a firm, thick, white fish.  And it was home cooking, so how bad could it be?  And at 13.00 a pound,  Annalena felt thrilled to have saved the equivalent of her cappucino  money for the week.  So, a pound of cod in hand, and a bunch of fresh oregano in the other, she headed home to make her dinner.

Except... see, Annalena doesn't always function well in the morning.  The fresh oregano was right next to the fresh mint.  And Annalena needed mint for another dish.  So she took one bunch of each, which turned out to be two bunches of mint.

Always resourceful, Annalena picked up her jar of  dried Turkish oregano, put it on the counter, and immediately filled it with some kind of sauce that she was planning to use elsewhere, and fouled the herbs.

SHIT.  (How rarely does that show up in this blog?).  However, again, always resourceful, Ananlena had a bag of MEXICAN oregano, which is not the same as Turkish, but close.  It was a compromise, but it worked.

Ragazzi, when you make this (and you will, won't you), get the fresh stuff, or get the Turkish dried stuff, or the Greek stuff, and make it the right way.  It will be better. Annalena promises.


Get a pound of codfish fillets.  If you get one big piece, cut it in half, or smaller if you like, but don't try to cook the whole thing.  Pat the slices dry, and let them sit on a baking sheet, while you make this ridiculously easy sauce.

You need to peel two cloves of garlic. Sprinkle them with salt, and then with the back of your knife, smash them to as close as you can, to a paste.   Put this in a bowl, and add the juice of a lemon.  A BIG one.    Then add a half cup of chopped fresh parsley (no dried stuff here, kids. Dried parsely is green paper).    Add the oregano.  If fresh, a tablespoon.  If dried, maybe 2/3 of that.  Mix this all together.  Put about a half cup of the good stuff (extra virgin olive oil), in a cup, and drizzle it in to the herb and lemon mixture, stirring violently as you go along.  It WILL emulsify, and you will have more than you need.  A GOOD thing.  Taste it, correct the salt.

Put the sauce aside, and get ready to make your fish.  You need a non stick pan here.  Pour in two tablespoons of oil and keep an eye on it.  You will see small ripples forming, and when they do, you're ready to cook.  Have a flipper ready.  Put the fish in, and watch it sear. It will take all of 2 minutes to brown on one side.  Then carefully flip it.  Brown it for another two minutes.

Plate up the fish, and pour a couple of spoons of the salmoriglio over it.  Picture perfect.  It will look as good as a cookbook recipe picture.  PROMISE. And you haven't killed your calorie budget.

As noted, you will have extra sauce left over.  You can put this on veal, chicken, other firm fish, anything short of pork, duck, beef, or the "red meats." It keeps for an eternity in your fridge, and if you make a salad with a strong will, you can even use it there.

So there you have it, ragazzi.  A quick, delicious fish dish that combines the old with the not so old.

There was one comment on Annalena's last post, so next time around, we're going to pickle some pineapple.  Be warned!  You need to visit your spice merchant for this, so make sure you have some coriander, some fennel, some cloves, and some hot peppers ready.  All the whole seeds, puleeeze