Olive Oil Poached Cod, Mashed Sweet Potatoes and Sauteed Broccoli Rabe with Pine Nuts

We eat fish quite a bit: I pan fry whole porgies or cook them in a foil "pouch" with oregano, garlic and olive oil on a weekly basis. But more supple fillets of fish inherently prone to overcooking, usually pose a problem as they demand a bit more attention than I can offer on a weeknight.

It was only just recently I figured out a solution to this problem; it was only just recently I figured out that poaching fish in olive oil is an unbelievably forgiving method of cooking delicate fish that yields such amazingly tender, moist results. I cannot sing this method's praises enough: it's so simple and so easy, more importantly poaching really lets the fish shine and using good olive oil means it's healthy.


In this dish, I used some fresh cod, which is thick and meaty, but I'm certain halibut would work just as well here. I served the olive oil poached cod over mashed sweet potatoes flavored with grated ginger and a touch of cream as well as some sauteed broccoli rabe with pine nuts toasted with a dash of cayenne pepper. The kids gobbled it all up and even asked for seconds. Need I say more?



Olive Oil Poached Cod, Mashed Sweet Potatoes and Sauteed Broccoli Rabe with Pine Nuts

1 to 1 1/2 lbs. fresh cod
2 large sweet potatoes
Ground ginger, to taste
Dash of ground nutmeg
Tablespooon of butter or a splash of heavy cream
1 bunch broccoli rabe, bottom 2 inches of stems removed
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/3 cup pine nuts
Dash of cayenne pepper
Olive oil
Salt and pepper, to taste


To start with, clean and peel the potatoes and cook them in boiling water until fork tender (alternatively, clean the potatoes but don't peel; wrap them in foil and roast until tender; cool and then peel). Mash them either with a potato masher or in a food processor, then stir in the ground ginger, ground nutmeg, butter or heavy cream, salt and pepper to taste. Set aside and rewarm when ready to serve.

For the broccoli rabe, rinse the stems and remove any thick or damaged leaves. Bring a pot of water to boil and add the broccoli rabe for just a couple of minutes. Remove the broccoli rabe to a colander and drain well. Meanwhile, heat a large skillet over medium high heat and add the pine nuts and a dash of cayenne. Shake the skillet frequently until the pine nuts are toasted and golden. Remove the pine nuts from the skillet and set aside. Add a couple of tablespoons olive oil to the skillet along with the minced garlic and cook until fragrant. Toss in the broccoli rabe and the pine nuts and combine well with the olive oil until heated through. Remove skillet from heat and set aside.

For the cod, heat some olive oil (enough to just cover the cod) in a dutch oven or deep skillet over very low heat. Cut the cod into individual portions, season with salt and pepper and carefully add it to the oil. Let the cod poach in the olive oil (keep the heat at low) until opaque and just cooked through, about 12 to 15 minutes depending on the size of the fillets.

Place the mashed sweet potatoes and broccoli rabe on the plate and carefully remove cod with a spatula and place over the potatoes to serve.

Try adding some fresh herbs or sliced garlic to the poaching oil so as to infuse the fish with those flavors as well.

Bakaliarakia Tiganita kai Skordalia me Kappari--Fried Whiting with a Caper Skordalia

I'm lucky to have children who love to eat fish. Even luckier, I believe, that fish in New York is pretty inexpensive and pretty fresh. Family favorites such as Red Snapper (Synagrida) run between $6.99 and $7.99 a pound while Porgies (Tsipoures) and Sardines (Sardela) can be found for $2.99 a pound.

I went to the fish market yesterday intent on buying Barbounia (Red Mullet, which were $6.99 a pound) as we hadn't had these tasty little fish in a long while. But when I got to the store, I quickly snapped up the smaller Bakaliarakia (Whitings) that I know the kids really enjoy. And at just $2.99 a pound, these tasty little fish were definitely a steal.



Almost all Greek tavernas around New York--and there are A LOT of them--feature fried bakaliarakia (whiting) on their menus. They serve these small but meaty fish with some garlicky skordalia and the dish is a favorite among most patrons.

As such, it was only natural that I fry our bakaliarakia yesterday and serve them with some skordalia. It's an easy enough dish without much hullabaloo but there are a few cooking points I'd like to note:

• I find that when frying my fish, double-dipping it (i.e. in egg, then flour, then egg again and finally flour again) creates a much nicer crust.
  
• Season your flour well with your choice of seasonings but also season your fish with salt and pepper before dipping.
  
• When frying anything, heat your oil really well--you will never get a crisp, well-browned crust if your oil is not hot enough the second your fish touches it.
  
• As your fish finishes cooking, place it on paper towels to drain to keep the crust from getting soggy.

I served our bakaliarakia with some skordalia (garlicky mashed potato/bread) that I updated a bit by adding some chopped capers to. The tangy capers provided a great dimension of flavor and went well with the fish.

Note: I like to make my skordalia by simply mashing the ingredients with a fork as opposed to blending everything in a food processor--I just like the chunky texture as opposed to the smooth, sometimes elastic texture this dip gets when blended by the processor.

Bakaliarakia Tiganita--Fried Whiting

2 1/2 pounds small Whiting, cleaned
1 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon dried Greek oregano
1/2 teaspoon paprika
Salt and freshly ground pepper
2 eggs, beaten
Oil for frying

Wash the fish well with water; pat dry and season with some salt and pepper. Heat about an inch of oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.

Combine flour, oregano, paprika, salt and pepper on a large plate. Place the eggs in another plate. Begin dipping the fish in egg, then dredge it in the flour (making sure to shake off the excess), dip it again into the egg then give it one final dredging in the flour. Place it directly into the hot oil and fry just a few minutes on each side until well browned. Remove fish to a dish lined with paper towels and serve warm along with some skordalia, a salad and some crusty bread.

Skordalia me Kappari--Caper Skordalia

2 medium potatoes, washed, peeled and boiled until tender
2 slices of white bread, crusts removed
1 large clove of garlic, minced
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon red wine vinegar
Olive oil (about 1/4 cup)
2 teaspoons finely chopped capers


Drain potatoes well and place them in a large bowl. Begin mashing the potatoes with a fork and then set aside until somewhat cooled.

wet the bread with some water or milk and squeeze out any excess. Add it to the potatoes along with the garlic, salt, pepper and vinegar and stir and mash the mixture with a fork until well combined. Begin adding some oil in a steady stream stirring constantly. Once you've added enough oil to reach your desired consistency, stir in the chopped capers.

Allow the skordalia to sit for a while, then serve with fried fish, fried eggplant/zucchini slices or some fresh bread.

Synagrida me Estragon sto Fourno -- Red Snapper Baked with Tarragon

Synagrida (Greek for red snapper) is my favorite fish. I love its tender meat and its versatility as it can easily be grilled, baked or broiled whole and paired with virtually any sauce or flavoring.

Simply grilled and then dressed with ladolemono (olive oil-lemon sauce) is probably my favorite way to enjoy this red-fleshed fish when eating at a taverna, but at home I like to prepare it either plaki or baked then broiled with different herbs, lemon juice and olive oil surrounded by thinly-sliced potatoes for a tasty and healthy one-pan meal.

Having bought some fresh tarragon from the market the other day, I was curious to see how the herb would pair with our fresh snapper (usually dried Greek oregano is the star of the show). The verdict: the aroma of the fish baking away enveloped in foil, with fresh tarragon tucked in its cavity and lemon slices layered atop its red flesh, was--how should I put it--intoxicating.

Oh, and when my two year old son saw me setting the platter out to snap a couple of shots he began running laps (victory laps perhaps?) around the table emphatically declaring, "Mmmm, good Mama!" Not to mention that he and his sister asked for seconds and my husband, well, he was licking his fingers ... literally.

(I served the fish with some asparagus, which I simply roasted drizzled with olive oil, salt and pepper in the oven until tender.)

Synagrida me Estragon sto Fourno --

Baked Red Snapper with Tarragon

1 whole red snapper (about 2.5 lbs.), cleaned

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 lemon, halved; one lemon half left in tact and the other sliced thin

4 sprigs fresh tarragon

Couple pinches of dried Greek oregano

1/3 cup olive oil

3 potatoes, scrubbed and peeled then sliced into fairly thin rounds

Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Line a large baking sheet with plenty of foil, allowing the foil to overhang the baking sheet so that it may be sealed over the fish later. Pour about two tablespoons of oil in the center and sprinkle with some salt, pepper, 1/4 of the garlic and a bit of the oregano.

Place fish in the center of foil atop the seasoned olive oil. Season the cavity of the fish with 3/4 of the remaining garlic, juice from the lemon half, salt, pepper and a pinch of the oregano then place two of the tarragon sprigs inside and sprinkle with a little olive oil as well.

Drizzle remaining olive oil over the outside of the fish. Season with the remaining garlic, oregano, salt and pepper then top with the lemon slices and the two sprigs of tarragon. Arrange potato slices around the fish and sprinkle the potatoes with salt, pepper and oregano. Spoon some of the olive oil in the baking sheet over the potatoes then fold edges of foil over fish and seal.

Bake for about 30 minutes then open the foil, remove the lemon slices and tarragon from atop the fish and place the baking sheet under the broiler until the potatoes and fish get some slight color, about 10 to 15 minutes. Serve immediately.