Rolling with the seasons: black cod in parchment, with olives, potatoes and lemon

Any of her amici who have read even 3 of these posts knows that Annalena is loyal to her farmers, her local bakers, and her fishermen, none more so than the Karlins (although she wishes WK would get rid of the ridiculous pony tail.  NO  It does NOT make you a shaman).

Still , there are times during the year, when it is not possible to be loyal:  it's winter, the ground freezes.  The weather precludes travel, the seas are too rough.  And so it was this past week, when Annalena had to do what she does not like to do... and go to a fish store to get her piscine foodstuffs.

She and the Guyman were laughing because, when this happens - always in the bleak midwinter,  it always seems that the sequence is:  halibut, black cod, octopus.    We've been through the halibut, and now, we're on the black cod.

But let's stop for a minute, because the very name "black cod" should be used as a teaching tool for all of those who are so inclined.  "Black cod" is not a codfish.  It is not even CLOSELY related to a codfish.  And it is not at all like a codfish.  So it is with fish, ragazzi.  DO NOT trust a name.   What is called a bass, is often not a bass, what is called "dolphin," is not dolphin, and so on and so forth.  If you encounter a name that strikes you as odd, do some research.  Chilean seabass, for instance, is NOT a bass.  Surely you know the story:  it's true name is "patagonian toothfish."  Try selling THAT.  Chilean seabass... OH, why didn't you TELL me?

The better name for black cod, is sablefish.  Doesn't sound like anything you've heard of?  GOOD.  It shouldn't, because as far as we know, sablefish is the only representative of its species that is around today.  It comes from Northwest US waters, and it is a deep, and Annalena means DEEP water fish - 1000-9000 feet.

A fish that dwells at that depth of the ocean is going to need some specialized tissues, etc, and sablefish does have those.  To be more precise, it has a very high fat content - GOOD fat content, somewhat akin to wild salmon (we speak not of farmed fish in this blog, ragazzi.  EVER).   Yet, that fat does not come across as "fishy" the way, for example, bluefish or mackerel might.  This is a very luscious, thick fleshed, helluva good fish.  Cod is wonderful in and of itself, but if you put North Atlantic cod on a plate next to sablefish, and tried them both, you would know immediately:  these fish are NOT related.   Annalena cannot conceive of deep frying sablefish, any more than she can conceive of preparing North Atlantic cod with a miso glaze.  Yet, each technique is valid, for a particular fish.  Do your research, ragazzi, and then do not say "I can't cook fish."

This particular dish comes out of a classic technique we've seen before:  "en papillote" or "in paper."  Annalena uses parchment, however, she is told that in France, the paper of choice is a brown paper bag.  And if all else fails, foil can be used.  The advantage of cooking this way, is that you save everything, and the temperature concentrates so strongly, that you can cook your fish in very limited time,  with very little work.  Clean up?    Throw out the paper.    So, what are we waiting for?  Let's get moving.

The proportions here are not precise, because cooking often is not.  You need a sufficiency of the sablefish, cut into portions.  Five ounces, six ounces, eight ounces?  How hungry are you?  That's the size of your fish portion.  Next, you need some potatoes, and here, the choice of potato is somewhat important.  You want something that holds up well when boiled:  that means just about all red skinned potatoes,  and yukon golds, just to start. (DO NOT trust a supermarket selling "boilers."  Ain't necessarily true).  You want about 3 ounces of potato per person.  That may very well mean you are using one potato for two people, or even three. That's fine.  Peel the potatoes, and then slice them REAL thin.  A benriner, or mandoline, are both great to have for this.  If you don't have those tools, get a good knife and here, ragazzi, you do need to be surgical. Get them as thin as possible,  almost like potato chips.   Put them in a bowl, with two tablespoons of olive oil, and some chopped oregano .  You can use thyme or rosemary if you have to .  You want to stir this all up so that the potatoes are lightly coated.  If you need more oil, but it in.  Don't go crazy with the herbs: less is more.  Annalena would say that half a teaspoon per person is probably plenty.

You will also need a nice sized garlic clove for every 2-3 portions.  Peel it and slice it thinly. Also, slice a lemon, meyer or not, into thin slices, and finally, get a  handful of black olives.  Pit them by smashing them to release the pit, and then slice those, too.

Did Annalena say finally? She lied.  Now, a good handful of parsley, chopped.

Ok, now we're ready to start the assembly.  First, get your oven going at 400, and get a big baking sheet ready.  For each portion, you need a separate sheet of paper.  In the middle of that paper, make a rough circle of potatoes.  You know how many potatoes you have,  and you know how many people.  Act accordingly.  Put the fish on top of that, and then strew garlic, olives, and parsley.  End with some lemon slices, and a pinch of salt.

Here's what Annalena's looked like:

Now, seal that paper up really, REALLY well.  It's important to make sure that it doesn't, and can't, open.  Some recipe writers say to tie it with kitchen twine.  Annalena says screw that, and crumple the paper up tight.  If you are really going to be certain about it, you can dab some eggwhite on the edges of the paper, and then fold it together.  Egg white is "nature's glue," and it will hold things together.

Put the packets onto the  baking sheet, and then bake them for 15-20 minutes, at 400.  To Annalena's taste, 15 minutes was fine.  Go to 20 if you really do not feel secure about undercooked fish, although if your oven functions correctly, fifteen minutes will be fine.  Given the nature of this fish, 20 minutes will not overcook it.

When all is said and done, you have:

Your hardest task at this point, is to get the fish from the paper to a plate, if you so desire. Sometimes, Annalena just cuts away the extra paper, and serves it as it is.   Then, at the end, you crumble up the paper and your clean up is complete.

So, when Wade and his ponytail ain't there, and you have to do what you have to do, you could do a lot worse.

Annalena really does love her gephew  Wade.  The ponytail, on the other hand.....