Herbed Cod Bake with a White Wine Sauce

For five people (quantities for ten are given below)

5 cod fillets
vegetable oil for greasing
100g fresh white breadcrumbs*
25g onion, peeled and finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
½ bunch of parsley leaves, chopped
½ bunch of chives, chopped
½ bunch of dill, chopped
100g butter, at room temperature
For the mashed potatoes
600g potatoes
30-50g butter
salt and pepper
For the sauce
2 onions, peeled and finely chopped
100ml white wine or vermouth
100ml fish stock or vegetable stock (made up with part of a stock cube, if wished)
or water
100-150ml double cream

* If you can’t find fresh white breadcrumbs to buy, you can make them. For this recipe, take about 200g of white bread, remove the crusts and bake the bread in a 150C/300C/gas 2 oven for about 10 minutes or until the bread is dry. Whiz it in a food processor to crumbs. Use them right away or store them in an airtight container.

Method

1. Heat the oven to 170C/325F/gas 3. Place the cod on a lightly oiled baking sheet.
2. Prepare the mashed potatoes by peeling then boiling them until tender. Drain and leave them in the saucepan, covered, for 5-10 minutes. Add the butter, season with salt and pepper and mash them until creamy and free of lumps. (Add a little of the double cream if necessary.)
3. Meanwhile, mix the breadcrumbs, chopped onions, garlic, parsley, chives, dill together and stir the mixture into the softened butter. Spread this over the cod fillets.
4. Bake in the oven for about 8 -10 minutes. The fish is done when it becomes firm, but not hard, to a quick touch of your finger tip. Remove from the oven and keep warm.
5. Meanwhile, make the sauce. Put the chopped onions for the sauce, the white wine and the fish or vegetable stock, or water, in a saucepan and bring to the boil.
6. Continue to boil the liquid to reduce it a little. Reduce the heat, add the cream and let the sauce simmer to thicken a little more. Season with a little pepper.
7. Pour the sauce over the fish. Serve with the mashed potatoes.

Each serving provides:
Kcal: 526
Protein: 41.4g
Fat: 23.6g (of which saturated fat: 11.3g)
Carbohydrate: 33.2g (of which sugars: 2.1g)
Fibre: 1.8g

Nutrition Points:

a) This recipe is high in iodine.
b) This recipe is a source of vitamin B12 and vitamin D.

Serving Suggestions:

a) Instead of potatoes, serve this dish with boiled rice – or, for extra nutrients, with brown rice.
b) Freshly cooked, preferably steamed, fresh vegetables go well with this dish, though freshly cooked frozen vegetables are another excellent accompaniment for the fish.

For ten people

10 cod fillets
vegetable oil for greasing
200g plain breadcrumbs* (see below)
50g onion, peeled and finely chopped
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 bunch of parsley leaves, chopped
1 bunch of chives, chopped
1 bunch of dill, chopped
200g butter, at room temperature
For the mashed potatoes
1.2kg potatoes
60 -100g butter
salt and pepper
For the sauce
4 medium-sized onions, peeled and finely chopped
200ml white wine or vermouth
200ml fish stock or vegetable stock (made up with part of a stock cube, if wished)
or water
200-300ml double cream

* If you can’t find fresh white breadcrumbs to buy, you can make them. For this recipe, take about 300g of white bread, remove the crusts and bake the bread in a 150C/300C/gas 2 oven for about 10 minutes or until the bread is dry. Whiz it in a food processor to crumbs. Use them right away or store them in an airtight container.

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