Steamed cod with lemon sauce

Steaming fish is one of the healthiest options, and if you serve it with a good sauce it turns out truly exquisite. Today Leticia, author of Unveiling Flavors, brings you the recipe for steamed cod with lemon sauce, served with wok-sautéed asparagus. A recipe you'll enjoy every day!

They say everything is contagious except beauty, and I don’t know whether my love for cod is because I live so close to Portugal or it came built-in, but the fact is that, whether fresh or salt-cured, it’s one of my favorite fish.

And it's incredibly versatile; it lends itself to countless preparations and any sauce or side. No wonder the Portuguese say they have a different way to make it for every day of the year!

Alright, today we’re going to steam it, a quick, clean, very light cooking method since we don’t add fats. I’m sure that when you try it, it will become one of your favorite cooking methods, because the fish prepared this way turns out so juicy.

And for those who are afraid of getting a boring fish, I also bring you a lemon sauce that's a perfect match, and a side of vegetables stir-fried in a wok to brighten up this dish a bit.

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 of flour
• 100ml of white wine
• 150ml of fish stock
• Salt and pepper

For the garnish:

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

Preparation

For the lemon sauce

1. We start by preparing the lemon sauce. To do this, we put the butter in a pan, in my case in the skillet de Le Creuset, over medium heat until it melts, taking care not to let it burn.
2. Once the butter is melted, add the flour and stir with some rods to prevent lumps from forming. We let the flour toast for a couple of minutes to remove the raw taste.
3. Next, add the wine and keep stirring as the alcohol evaporates.
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 peel (with the Microplane grater it's done in a moment) and we add it to the pan.

For steamed cod

1. We start by lining the base of the steamer with parchment paper, which prevents the cod from sticking to the steamer and makes cleanup afterwards easier.
2. Cut the cod into pieces that are similar in both size and thickness, so it cooks more evenly.
3. Place the pieces of cod in the steamer, arranging them so they don’t pile up so all parts cook evenly.
4. Next, we heat water over medium heat in a casserole dish with a diameter similar to the steamer's and, once it starts to steam, we place the steamer on the pot.
5. Keep the pot over medium heat and cook the cod for 5 minutes.
6. After this time, we remove the pot from the heat and uncover the steamer. We’ll see that the cod flesh separates into flakes, which means it’s ready.

For the garnish

1. We start by preparing the sauce for the garnish. To do this we mix in a bowl soy sauce, water, and grated ginger.
2. Next we wash the asparagus, and with a sharp knife we cut off the toughest part of the stem, the last 2 or 3 cm, and cut them into pieces.
3. We wash the green beans and trim the ends, removing any side strings if present. Cut into pieces about the same size as the asparagus.
4. We slice the onion.
5. We start heating the wok with the olive oil and, once it is very hot, add the vegetables and sauté for a few minutes until they are cooked but still 'al dente'.
6. We add the sauce we had set aside and keep it on the heat for a few minutes until the ingredients are well combined.
7. Remove from the heat and sprinkle with sesame seeds.

Serve the cod fillets with the lemon sauce and the side dish.

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

Notes

• We can make this recipe with either fresh cod or desalted cod; it's delicious both ways. Just remember that if we use desalted cod we shouldn’t add any more salt (so we skip the step of salting the fish before cooking).
• For the side, I included round green beans in the ingredients, since their size is very similar to the asparagus and the cooking will be more even, but if you prefer to use flat green beans, I recommend cutting them lengthwise so they’ll match the asparagus in size more closely.
• To decorate the dish I used chives and alfalfa sprouts, which are by no means essential, but they add a fun touch and, together with the beautiful plates Nezumi Tokyo Design Studio, a beautiful final finish.

Well then—don’t let anyone say steamed fish is boring! And “you don’t like cod” isn’t an excuse, because you can make this recipe with any other white fish and it’s still delicious.

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

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• Leticia has prepared the recipe with the Ken Hom bamboo steamer. This steamer is very convenient to use, as it adapts to a wide range of cookware: just place it in a frying pan, pot, or wok it fits in, and add about a finger’s depth of water to generate steam.
• Another good alternative to the bamboo steamer is the OXO stainless steel steamer. On the other hand, if you are very keen on this type of cooking, the Magimix steamer offers multiple advantages that you can see here.

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