Steamed cod with lemon sauce

Steaming fish is a very healthy option, and if you accompany it with a good sauce it is exquisite. Today Leticia, author of Revelando Sabores , brings us the recipe for steamed cod with lemon sauce and accompanied by wok-cooked asparagus. A recipe that you will enjoy in your daily life!

They say that everything is contagious except beauty, and I don't know if my love for cod is due to how close I live to Portugal or if it was already a normal part of my life, but the fact is that, whether fresh or salted, it is one of my favourite fish.

It is one of the most versatile dishes, it can be prepared in a thousand ways and with any sauce or accompaniment. The Portuguese are right in saying that they have a different way of preparing it for every day of the year!

Well, today we are going to prepare it steamed, a quick, clean and very light way of cooking since we do not add fat. I am sure that when you try it, it will become one of your favorite ways of cooking, because the fish is so juicy when prepared this way.

And for those who are afraid of getting a boring fish, I also bring you a lemon sauce that goes like a glove , and a garnish of vegetables prepared in the wok to give a little joy to this dish.

Three for the price of one, hey!!

Ken Hom bamboo steamer , Pallarès carbon steel knife , Boska cutting board , Nezumi Tokyo Design Studio plates and Le Creuset skillet .

Ingredients

• 800gr of cod
• Salt

For the lemon sauce:

• 1 lemon
• 50gr of butter
• 1 tablespoon flour
• 100ml white wine
• 150ml fish stock
• Salt and pepper

For the garnish:

• Trilloliva olive oil
• 200gr of green asparagus
• 150gr of round green beans
• ½ onion
• 1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons of water
• Sesame seeds

Preparation

For the lemon sauce

1. We begin by preparing the lemon sauce. To do this, put the butter in a frying pan, in my case in the Le Creuset skillet , over medium heat until it melts, being careful not to let it burn.
2. Once the butter has melted, add the flour and stir with a whisk to prevent lumps from forming. Let the flour toast for a couple of minutes to eliminate the raw taste.
3. Next we add the wine and continue stirring while we let the alcohol evaporate.
4. Add the fish stock and lemon juice, season with salt and pepper and continue cooking until the sauce thickens slightly.
5. We grate the lemon zest (with the Microplane grater it is done in a moment) and add it to the pan.

For the steamed cod

1. We begin by lining the base of the steamer with baking paper, this way we prevent the cod from sticking to the steamer and make it easier to clean later.
2. We cut the cod into pieces that are similar in size and thickness, so that cooking will be more uniform.
3. We place the pieces of cod in the steamer, distributing them so that they do not pile up so that all parts cook evenly.
4. Next, we heat water over medium heat in a saucepan with a diameter similar to that of the steamer and, once it begins to steam, we place the steamer on the saucepan.
5. We keep the saucepan on medium heat and cook the cod for 5 minutes.
6. After this time, remove the pan from the heat and uncover the steamer. You will see that the cod meat separates into flakes, which means that it is ready.

For the garnish

1. We begin by preparing the sauce for the garnish. To do this, mix the soy sauce, water and grated ginger in a bowl .
2. Next, we wash the asparagus and, using a sharp knife, we cut off the hardest part of the stem, the 2 or 3 cm at the end, and cut them into pieces.
3. We wash the beans and remove the ends and side threads if they have any. We cut them into pieces of a similar size to the asparagus.
4. We cut the onion into slices.
5. We heat the wok with the olive oil and, once it is hot, we add the vegetables and sauté for a few minutes until we see that they are cooked but still “al dente”.
6. We add the sauce that we had reserved and keep it on the heat for a few minutes until the ingredients are well integrated.
7. Remove from heat and sprinkle with sesame seeds.

We serve the cod fillets with the lemon sauce and garnish.

Ken Hom carbon steel wok , Ken Hom bamboo steamer , Pallarès carbon steel knife , Boska cutting board , Zester Microplane grater , Le Creuset ceramic ramekins and Le Creuset skillet frying pan .

Grades

• We can prepare this recipe with either fresh or desalted cod, and it is delicious either way. Just remember that if we use desalted cod we should not add any more salt (therefore we skip the step of salting the fish before cooking it).
• For the garnish I have included round green beans in the ingredients, since their size is very similar to that of the asparagus and they will cook more evenly, but if you prefer to use flat green beans I recommend cutting them lengthwise, since this way they will be more even in size with the asparagus.
• To decorate the dish I used chives and alfalfa sprouts, which are not essential at all, but they give it a fun touch and, together with the beautiful Nezumi Tokyo Design Studio plates, a beautiful final finish.

Well, let's not say that steamed fish is boring! And I won't accept the excuse that you don't like cod, because you can prepare this recipe with any other white fish and it will still be delicious.

Nezumi Tokyo Design Studio plate , Le Creuset skillet , Ken Hom bamboo steamer , Pallarès carbon steel knife and Boska cutting board

---

• Leticia has prepared the recipe with the Ken Hom bamboo steamer . This steamer is very easy to use, as it adapts to a multitude of utensils: you just have to place it in a pan, pot or wok in which it fits, and place a finger's worth of water in that utensil to generate steam.
• Another good alternative to the bamboo steamer is the OXO stainless steel steamer . On the other hand, if you are a big fan of this type of cooking, the Magimix steamer has multiple advantages that you can see here .
• You can see the Nezumi collection of plates and bowls here .

---