It's Wednesday, my day to be unplugged from appointments and plugged into cooking and family. It's always a highlight of my week when everyone comes over in the evening and we get to share stories and squeezers!
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
"There are lives I can imagine without children…but none of them have the same laughter & noise." ~ Brian Andreas
RECIPE OF THE WEEK
This week's recipe is one I had torn out of the Star Tribune last year and tucked away in my bulging file of recipes I might make someday. Last week was that someday. It was delicious!
ROASTED COD WITH A TOASTED BREAD CRUMB, DRIED TOMATO AND PINE NUT CRUST
recipe by Betty Rosbottom
- 4 cod fillets, each about 7 oz and 3/4 inch thick
- 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 8 1/2 tablespoons olive oil, divided, plus extra for oiling baking dish
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 3 tablespoons chopped sun-dried tomatoes
- 1 cup fresh bread crumbs (from good quality bread such as ciabatta, baguette or peasant loaf with crusts removed)
- 2 tablespoon pine nuts
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 1 tablespoon dried thyme leaves
- 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 4 lemon wedges
- 4 thyme sprigs for garnish, optional
Place fillets in a shallow nonreactive dish. Whisk lemon juice and 3 tablespoons of the oil together and pour over fish. Season fillets with salt and pepper. Marinate, uncovered, at cool room temperature, turning once or twice, for 30 minutes. Place the chopped dried tomatoes and 1/12 tablespoons of the olive oil in a small bowl. Toss to coat tomatoes with oil. Marinate for 30 minutes, then drain and reserve oil and tomatoes.
Arrange a rack at center position and preheat oven to 450 degrees. Oil a baking dish that will hold the fillets comfortably in a single layer, and transfer fish to it. Drizzle reserved oil from the tomatoes over fillets.
Heat remaining 4 tablespoons oil in a medium-sized heavy skillet over medium heat. When hot, add bread crumbs and stir and cook 1 minute. Add drained tomatoes, pine nuts, garlic, thyme and red pepper flakes; stir and cook 1 minute more.
Remove pan from heat and spread bread crumb mixture evenly over fillets. Bake fish until flesh is opaque and flakes easily when piecred with a kinfe, about 14 minutes.
Squeeze a lemon wedge over each fillet, and garnish with thyme sprig if desired.
