You may have noticed that lately my blog features light or otherwise low-calorie recipes.
This is because my family and I decided to follow a balanced and light diet for a while to detox a bit.
That’s why I’m studying to find dishes that aren’t too elaborate but still very flavorful.
Today we will prepare a cod-based dish, a high-protein, very low-fat fish: PAN-FRIED COD FILLET and also a baked version.
Did you know that 3.5 oz of cod contain only about 80 calories? I didn’t.
Besides being a healthy food, it’s also quite simple to cook and lets us prepare a quick and tasty main course.
Our recipe today calls for cooking the cod in a pan “in white” — just lemon juice, a little oil, Taggiasca olives and sun-dried tomatoes. For the oven version I suggest using fresh tomatoes instead of sun-dried ones because they would become hard, and if you’re not on a strict diet sprinkle the surface with a mix of breadcrumbs, parsley and chopped garlic for a tasty BAKED COD that’s soft inside with a crunchy crust.
Cod, a white, lean fish, belongs to the same family as hake.
With its delicate flavor, it will be your dinner saver when you’re short on time but don’t want to give up a tasty and light dish. For other light recipes also check out
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Inexpensive
- Preparation time: 20 Minutes
- Cooking time: 15 Minutes
- Portions: 4 people
- Cooking methods: Stovetop, Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Energy 196.56 (Kcal)
- Carbohydrates 4.02 (g) of which sugars 0.18 (g)
- Proteins 24.30 (g)
- Fat 9.99 (g) of which saturated 1.51 (g)of which unsaturated 2.27 (g)
- Fibers 1.03 (g)
- Sodium 355.44 (mg)
Indicative values for a portion of 150 g processed in an automated way starting from the nutritional information available on the CREA* and FoodData Central** databases. It is not food and / or nutritional advice.
* CREATES Food and Nutrition Research Center: https://www.crea.gov.it/alimenti-e-nutrizione https://www.alimentinutrizione.it ** U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov
Ingredients
- 1.3 lb cod fillets (or hake)
- 4 sun-dried tomatoes in oil
- 3 tbsp Taggiasca olives
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 lemon (juice)
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- chili pepper (optional)
- to taste Salt
- 1 tbsp chopped parsley
Tools
- Bowl
- Nonstick skillet
PROCEDURE
For this preparation I always use frozen fish, which should not be demonized. If of good quality it has nothing to envy to fresh fish. So the first thing you will need to do is thaw the cod fillets. To do this you can leave them a few hours out of the freezer or hold them for a few minutes, sealed in a plastic bag, under the hot water flow from the tap. Once thawed, pat them lightly dry with paper towels.
Put 2 tbsp of oil and the whole crushed garlic clove in a nonstick skillet. Add some chili if you like and let it flavor the oil. Then add the cod fillet and brown it on both sides for 2–3 minutes. In the meantime squeeze the lemon and strain its juice. Set it aside. When the fish is well seared add the olives and the tomatoes cut into pieces. Season with salt and continue cooking for about 5 minutes. Add the lemon juice and continue for another 2–3 minutes until the fish is cooked through. Sprinkle with fresh chopped parsley before serving.
First let’s make the marinade. Put the juice of 1 lemon, the oil (about 3 tbsp), salt and a pinch of pepper in a bowl and mix everything. Lay the cod fillet on a plate, pour the marinade over it and massage the fillets so they absorb the flavor on all sides. Lightly oil a baking dish and place the cod fillets inside with the Taggiasca olives and cherry tomatoes cut into pieces (for oven cooking fresh tomatoes are better than sun-dried ones). Bake in a preheated conventional oven at 392°F for 15–20 minutes or until the fillets are cooked. Remove from the oven and serve the baked cod fillets hot.
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VARIATIONS AND TIPS
COD: You can use this recipe also to prepare hake, plaice or sole; obviously cooking times change depending on the size and type of fish.
LEMON: If you don’t like the taste of lemon you can omit it and instead deglaze the fish with 1/4 cup of dry white wine.
OVEN VARIANT: To make the dish even more flavorful you can sprinkle the surface of the cod before baking with a mix made from about 1/2 cup breadcrumbs (50 g), 1 tbsp chopped parsley and 1/2 clove of garlic, or instead of parsley use 15 g sliced almonds (about 1/2 oz). A tasty crust will form while baking.
SKILLET VARIANT: Instead of sun-dried tomatoes you can use fresh cherry tomatoes cut into pieces and further flavor the dish by adding rinsed chopped capers and a few pine nuts.
For other light recipes you might be interested in Vegetable couscous light recipe, Light sole rolls, and many more on my blog.
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