“I don’t like fish, but I’m trying really hard.”

This statement should tell you everything you need to know about my relationship to seafood.  I love shellfish.  We’re addicted to fancy tinned tuna.  I hate salmon, even the remarkable smoked salmon from Tracklements that the fishmonger at Zingerman’s convinced me to try.  The rest of the sea remains relatively unexplored, aside from a few nice pieces of halibut or tilapia.  I posed this statement at the fish counter at Plum today, though, and came home with a small slab of cod – firm, great flavor, not too fishy – or so I was told.  I was also told that a pound would be just right for two of us, but that’s neither here nor there.

I had intended to bake the fish in a foil packet with lemon and garlic, but I was reminded of this recipe while flipping through cookbooks.  I sliced the fish into two filets, halved some cherry tomatoes, ripped up some basil from the garden, and drizzled olive oil over the top.  The recipe calls for mozzarella, but I didn’t feel like making another trip out on the moped, so I skipped that step and instead shredded a bunch of Parmiagiano-Reggiano over the tomatoes and filets.  While the fish got lovely and golden in the toaster oven, I boiled a couple of ears of sweet corn for about 7 minutes.

The fish was perfect – flaky, tender, and infused with delicate flavors from the basil and tomatoes – and the corn was impossibly sweet when rolled in butter, salt, and pepper.  The juices from the corn and fish mixed together on our plates, making everything even happier.  Especially my tastebuds.  Now to find more fish like this…

Recipe:
Roasted Cod with Cherry Tomatoes, Basil, and Mozzarella from Happy Days with the Naked Chef