Cod Loin

Hermitage Rd’s recipe with images using nurtured in norfolk’s micro cress, edible flowers, edible leaves, herbs, sea veg, pea shoots and micro/baby veg.

Method

For the Cod loin:

Make sure the cod loin is scaled efficiently, & the skin is scored finely. Salt the cod loin lightly with the Maldon salt. One third of the salt on to the flesh of the cod & the rest to be spread across the skins. Place the cod into the fridge to slightly cure, until ready to cook.

For the Courgette Caponata:

Dice the red onion to 3cmx3cm cubes, heat up a heavy based saucepan. Pour a little cooking oil into the pan, add the red onion, cook on a medium heat until slightly caramelised. Whilst waiting for the onion, dice the courgettes and aubergines to 4cmx4cm cubes. Once the onion has started to caramelise, add the demerara sugar. Lower the heat on the onions, to let the sugar melt down & start to coat the red onion. Meanwhile, place a saute pan onto a high heat, ready to seal off the courgettes & aubergines. Cook the courgette & aubergine until they have a good amount of colour to them, drain them off in a colander to remove excess liquid. Now, add the vinegar to the onion & sugar, to deglaze the pan.

Now you can add the chopped tomatoes to the onion pan, followed by all the coloured courgettes & aubergines, stir the mix to ensure everything has incorporated. Season the mix & cover with a cartouche, now to leave to cook through for 45 mins to an hour.

Once the caponata mix has cooked down and become an almost ‘ratatouille’ consistency, it can be taken off the heat to cool down. The capers are now to be folded through the mix.

To Serve:

Take the cod loin out of the fridge about 20 minutes before cooking, to allow the fish to come closer to room temperature. Preheat the oven to 180C. Place a frying pan on a high heat, until very hot, turn down to medium heat and add some oil. Place the cod, skin side down, into the pan, press down to ensure an even contact with the pan. Cook on medium heat for two minutes, now transfer to the oven for 5-6 minutes. (Depending on thickness). Whilst the cod is cooking in the oven, place the caponata mix back on the heat, to warm up ready to serve. Now for the clams, place another pan onto the heat to get very hot, place the clams in, add the wine & cover with a lid. The clams will take 2-3 minutes to cook, depending on size. As soon as the clams are open, add the diced butter to the wine. Use a spatula to monte the butter into the wine & to achieve the glossy shine that you are after from the emulsion. Fold in the chopped chervil & more seasoning if you wish. Keep the emulsion & clams warm by recovering with the lid.

To finish the caponata at the last moment, fold in all the chopped fresh herbs. The cod loin should be ready by now, so take out the oven, flip over onto the flesh side, add a squeeze of lemon and place onto a tray, ready to plate up.

Place the caponata just off centre in your serving bowls, place the roasted cod loin on top, arrange the 5 clams around each dish, pour the emulsion onto one side of the caponata & let it flow. Finish the simple plate up with the Micro Red Shiso Cress.