Cod with Zucchini and Preserved Tomatoes
This is a big one. Why, you ask? I'll tell you. This is the first time I have ever, EVER, cooked fish (and only the second time in memory I have eaten fish)! I never liked fish and was recently served fish by a friend, so I decided the time had come to try it again. It was ok. I could eat it. I could even like it... maybe... if I tried it again soon. And that is why I made this dish. It is from the same cookbook as the Cold Caesar Salad Soup recipe-- Artisanal Cooking.
The Recipe (with my modifications):
2 tbsp. red wine vinegar
1/2 C. plus 3 tbsp. olive oil
1/2 C. packed basil (washed, dried, and thinly sliced)
12 pieces oven dried tomatoes (see recipe below)
salt/ pepper
1 medium zucchini (cut on the diagonal into 8 pieces)
4 cod fillets (6-7 oz. each)
Whisk 5 Tbsp. oil into the vinegar to make a broken vinaigrette (it can stay separate). Stir in the basil and tomatoes. Season with salt and pepper.
Put the zucchini in a small bowl and drizzle with 2 tbsp oil, season. Heat a heavy bottomed 10 inch saute pan over medium-high heat. Cook the zucchini in the pan, 2 minutes on each side (until lightly golden). Add to the tomato mixture.
Pat the cod fillets dry and season. Heat a nonstick 12 inch saute pan over medium heat. Add 1/4 C. oil and heat. Add the cod, without crowding the pan and cook 3-4 minutes on one side, flip and cook for an additional minute. Place the fish over the tomato mixture. Spoon some of the vinaigrette over the fish.
Preserved Tomatoes:
6 plum tomatoes
2 tbsp. olive oil
2 cloves garlic, sliced thinly
2 thyme leaves
salt
Preheat oven to 200. Cut the tomatoes in half lengthwise and remove seeds. Cut halves in half again. Toss tomato quarters with the other ingredients. Place tomatoes onto a wire rack set over a baking sheet and bake until dry but supple (2 hours).
Remove from oven and allow to cool until you can handle them. Remove peels. If saving the tomatoes refrigerate, covered with oil, in an airtight container.
