Sometimes, the best comfort food comes from the most simple everyday food items. Both cod and lentils are a bit underestimated, usually ranking way below salmon and chickpeas. Yet, this little dish is the epitome of a healthy diet: a plentiful amount of vegetables, nutrient-packed cod filet, and fiber-rich lentils. Due to the extent of nutrients in this dish, you could easily have this oven-baked cod every single day.
Want to give it a try? Find the full recipe below (together with a downloadable version at the bottom).
Note: The ingredient amounts haven't been specified since a huge part of creating this recipe revolves around you trying out things that suit your taste. Feel free to experiment to find the perfect version that works for your tastebuds. This recipe was created out of a love for food but it's a do-it-yourself & learn-it-yourself kind of recipe.
The Ingredients
For vegetables and cod filet
- Skinless cod filet
- Carrots
- Tomatoes
- Red onion
- Zucchini
- Garlic
- Parsley
- Dill
- Rosemary
- Freshly squeezed orange juice (from about 2 or more oranges)
- Olive oil
- Salt according to taste
For lentil purée
- Boiled lentils
- 1/2 bell pepper
- Garlic
- Rosemary
- Olive oil
- Salt according to taste
- Lemon zest (if you'd like some extra taste)
- Piri Piri oil (if you'd like some spiciness, but don't use more than 1-2 drops)
Instructions
Vegetables and cod filet
Note: Use a cast iron skillet for this recipe because everything gets done right on the pan itself!
- COOK INDOORS AND OUTDOORS:...
- LONG-LASTING RELIABILITY: Cast...
- PRECISION HEAT DISTRIBUTION:...
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- Heat the pan on medium heat – not too low nor too high (you’ll want to avoid vegetables going soggy while avoiding frying them too heavily).
- Add olive oil to the pan and fry onions for a few minutes.
- Add carrots and let them brown a bit. Add zucchinis and let them simmer a few minutes too.
- Add tomatoes and let everything simmer for a few minutes. Add parsley for additional taste and season to taste.
- Close the heat and add raw cod filet right on top of the vegetables while the vegetables are all still on the pan (and still hot). Nestle the cod nicely on the vegetable pillow, putting the silvery side of the cod underneath.
- Crush the garlic under your knife and chop it. Feel free to chop rather large pieces. Divide the garlic on top of the cod.
- Add some dill, rosemary and salt on the cod, plus drizzle olive oil generously on the fish.
- Take your freshly squeezed orange juice and add it to the sides of the pan, covering the whole bottom of the pan (2 oranges should be enough to cover the pan but you might need more). Note: Do NOT add the juice on top of the cod. Cod should be safely on top of the veggies and the orange juice will go to the very bottom, creating sort of a little orangey lake.
- Put the whole pan in a pre-heated oven (at about 200°C) and cook the dish for about 12-15 minutes, depending on your oven. The cod is done once it’s a bit browned.
Lentil purée
- Cover the bell pepper with olive oil from both sides and bake it in a pre-heated oven at 220°C. Let it cook until it’s a bit browned from the top. Let it cool down and cut off the browned parts, leaving you just with the juicy baked bell pepper flesh.
- Combine all the ingredients in a food processor until it’s pureed.
Cooking tip: use a little bit less oil at the beginning, so you’d see how the consistency turns out, and then add oil until you achieve a nice smooth consistency. You might need to practice a bit but in any case, you’ll always end up with a delicious nutrient-packed lentil spread which you can use everywhere!
