Savoury Topped Cod Recipe

Ingredients for Savoury Topped Cod:

• 4 cod steaks
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 oz (28 g) butter
• 1 onion, peeled and finely chopped
• 1 green pepper, cored, seeded and chopped,
• 3 largish tomatoes, skinned and chopped
• 1 tablespoon fresh chopped parsley
• 2 oz (56 g) breadcrumbs
• 3 oz (84 g) mature cheddar, grated

Method for Savoury Topped Cod:

1. Put the fish into a greased, shallow casserole dish. Spoon over the lemon juice and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
2. Melt the butter in a pan, add the onion and green pepper and fry until soft and then stir in the tomatoes, parsley, breadcrumbs and cheese. Add salt and pepper to taste.
3. Spoon the mixture over the fish and cover.
4. Cook in a pre-heated oven at Gas Mark 4 (180°C/350°C) for about 30 minutes until the fish is tender, removing the cover for the last 10 minutes.

Serves 4.  Simple and delicious. The savoury topping keeps the dish nice and moist and the combination of the vegetables and cheese with the fish works well. Can also be used with haddock.

Some stocks of cod are seriously overfished so ask if the fish is Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certified – fished from sustainable sources such as the Barents Sea. Ask about alternatives and try Gurnard, pollack, pouting, bib, coley, etc.