Cod with Shallots and Cream Sauce
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It's hard to cook after a baby, isn't it? And even more after four. Each day, there is a small herd of children requiring my attention, love, and mental energy.
Feed us, Mama! Love us, Mama! Hey Mama, watch this! Mama, MIIIIIIILLLLLKKKK!!!!!
Hood rats, they are. But I love 'em. And I love cooking. And I shan't be giving up either. This means that I am employing a new fleet of recipes that can be completed with minimal ingredients, prep, and attention. Not because I don't want to spend two hours making the perfect sauce - trust me, I do. And one day I'll be able to devote that time and attention to cooking again. But for now, we're enjoying a season of simplicity. Because there are babies to nurse. And dragons to slay. And mud to clean up.
At around 4:00, I put Daddy in charge. He cleans the dining room, plays with the littles, and prepares the house for supper. I get to hunker into my happy place - the kitchen. Even if for a few, brief, fleeting moments.
Mind you, right now my happy place is torn up from ceiling to floor as we work through our kitchen renovation (more on this soon). And mind you, the three stools in the kitchen are almost always holding up three little dirty, crazy children who proceed to ask no less than 184 questions about what I'm cooking and why I'm cooking it. Yet, regardless, each day we get a meal on the table. Real, nourishing, food. And that's what's important. Clean house and sanity be damned.
I've made this dish dozens of times and yet, somehow, this is the first time I'm sharing it with you. Shame on me. You should have been enjoying this cod with shallots and cream sauce recipe for months now. It pulls together in less than 30 minutes, requires minimal dishes, and always pleases in a big way.
Especially with a glass or two of champagne.
We are celebrating parenthood, aren't we? I thought so.
Cod with Shallots and Cream Sauce
You will need:
- 6 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 pounds wild-caught cod
- 1/2 cup organic, all-purpose flour
- Sea salt
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 4 shallots
- 4 tablespoons dry white wine
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- Sea salt and freshly ground pepper
- Parsley, for garnish
1. Heat the olive oil in a large cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. Get it hot, baby. The trick it golden fish is to heat your oil and skillet properly before putting the fish in. Don't underheat. Don't.
Also, I may or may not have snuck a tablespoon of butter in with mine. Ahem.
2. Slice your shallots thin and set them aside.
3. Lay the cod out on a piece of parchment (or the wrapper it came in). Sprinkle it liberally with the flour and a few generous pinches of salt.
4. Into the hot oil goes the cod... about 3 or 4 minutes per side is all. Also, if you're going to cook fish, splurge the $10 on a fish spatula. Please. Because otherwise you'll end up with a bunch of little fish pieces. I know this for a fact.
See the bubbles? That's how you know the oil is hot enough. Sizzle, baby.
The cod should be nice and golden. Once it's cooked, move it to a baking sheet and place in a 200 degree oven while you whisk together the sauce. We want our fish to stay warm, man.
5. Alright. Let's turn our attention back to the hot skillet. Still hot, right? Turn that heat down a little bit and add in the butter. Then, our shallots. We will let these soften for about 5 minutes in the butter.
6. After the shallots are soft, we add in the wine. And then we pour ourselves a glass. Because we have four kids, remember? Let the wine cook off for about 3 minutes in the pan at a low simmer while you drink a bit of yours.
7. And then we add in the cream. Because we like it. And we let the mixture come to a simmer so it's nice and warm.
... and then we snag some parsley from The Keeper of The Parsley...
We salt and pepper to taste...and then we dish up. A bit of fish with a generous scoop of the sauce and a side of buttered spaghetti to boot. Rice is great too. As is quinoa. But tonight, it was pasta.
Wham, bam. The most delicious thing ever. Served alongside a fresh spinach salad and I'm one happy Mama.
Speaking of fish, pasta, and spinach salad, did anyone else grow up eating 'three things'? My Mom is still that way. We always have three things. Soup, salad, bread. Fish, rice, fruit. Eggs, toast, vegetable. Any combination of three - but there were always three.
And now I guess you could say I've formed a habit of doing the same thing as well. I'm not complaining though. Because food is good. And three foods is even gooder.
Especially when it includes cod with shallots and cream sauce.
And Amen.
Cod with Shallots and Cream Sauce
Enjoy this cod with shallots and cream sauce recipe for months now. It pulls together in less than 30 minutes, requires minimal dishes, and always pleases in a big way.
6 tablespoons olive oil
2 pounds wild-caught cod
1/2 cup organic (all-purpose flour)
Sea salt
4 tablespoons butter
4 shallots
4 tablespoons dry white wine
1/2 cup heavy cream
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper
Parsley (for garnish)
Heat the olive oil in a large cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. Get it hot, baby. The trick it golden fish is to heat your oil and skillet properly before putting the fish in. Don't underheat. Don't.
Slice your shallots thin and set them aside.
Lay the cod out on a piece of parchment (or the wrapper it came in). Sprinkle it liberally with the flour and a few generous pinches of salt.
Into the hot oil goes the cod... about 3 or 4 minutes per side is all.
The cod should be nice and golden. Once it's cooked, move it to a baking sheet and place in a 200 degree oven while you whisk together the sauce.
Turn that heat down a little bit and add in the butter to your skillet. Let the shallots soften for about 5 minutes in the butter.
After the shallots are soft, add in the wine. Let the wine cook off for about 3 minutes in the pan at a low simmer.
Slowly add the cream to the skillet.
Add the parsley, salt and pepper to taste. Then add the fish to the sauce. Enjoy with your favorite side: rice, quinoa, and pasta are all great choices.