Roasted Cod With Piperade And Parsley Beurre Blanc

by Chef Keith Froggett

You can use another cod for this dish as the Shetland one is hard to come by. The melding of tastes makes an exciting eating experience. Ancho chilies are available dried in specialty food stores. Omit if unavailable. Piperade can be made 1 to 3 days in advance and reheated.

Piperade:
1 small ancho chili
¼ cup olive oil
4 cups thinly sliced sweet onion
½ cup chopped canned tomato
1 teaspoon chopped garlic
2 grilled and peeled red peppers cut into 1/4-inch strips
2 grilled and peeled yellow peppers cut into 1/4-inch strips
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Beurre blanc:
¼ cup finely diced shallots
¼ cup white wine vinegar
¼ cup white wine
1 tablespoon whipping cream
1 cup cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes
2 teaspoons lemon juice
¼ cup coarsely chopped Italian parsley
6 x 6-ounce portions organic Shetland Islands cod fillet, skin on
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
¼ cup black olive slivers
6 cups baby spinach

Soak chili in hot water for 20 minutes. Cut in half, remove seeds and slice.
Heat olive oil in a large skillet on medium heat. Add onion and cook for 10 minutes or until lightly caramelized. Add tomato and cook slowly for 4 minutes or until all the liquid has evaporated. Add garlic and peppers to the onion-tomato mixture. Bring to a simmer and cook gently until well amalgamated, about 5 minutes. Season with the vinegar, salt and pepper to taste.

Combine shallots, vinegar and white wine in a small non-reactive pan. Bring to a boil and reduce for 3 minutes or until pan is almost dry. Stir in cream. Turn heat to low and whisk in chilled butter, one piece at a time, until it is incorporated. Stir in lemon juice and season with salt and pepper to taste. Keep sauce in a warm place, so that it does not solidify and split, until ready to use. Stir in parsley just prior to serving.

Preheat oven to 500 F.

Pat the cod dry with a paper towel and season with salt and pepper. Heat a large ovenproof frying pan on high heat, add vegetable oil and swirl carefully to coat. Place the cod skin-side down in the pan and place the pan in the oven. Roast cod for about 8 minutes or until the flesh is just cooked and the skin is crispy.

Reheat the piperade over medium heat, add spinach and olives, and stir until spinach is wilted.

Serve the cod on top of the piperade and pour a little of the sauce around.

Wine pairing by Beppi Crosariol:

Simultaneously rich and delicate, this elegant fish dish offers plenty of wine-pairing latitude. The instinctive thought might be white, such as an oily-textured viognier or marsanne-roussanne blend from the Rhône Valley, even, say, a Gavi from Italy. Alternatively, the dish is a good reason to pop open dry rosé, too. But even reds could work, such as a young tempranillo, a Beaujolais-Villages or Côtes-du-Rhône. International choices: Marques de Caceres Rioja Rosado from Spain ($10); Château Beaucastel Coudoulet de Beaucastel Blanc from France ($34). Canadian choice: Stratus Wildass Rosé from Niagara ($17).