Blue cod in the galley kitchen. Another tale from our recent trip to New Zealand.
Kitchens have a certain magnetism for me and wherever I go it’s a given that I’ll end up in the kitchen. Even on holiday, I can’t drag myself away from the pull of a sharp knife and a stove. Holiday cooking, particularly if it’s in another country, has the added interest of new ingredients and local fresh food. Our current trip to New Zealand is taking in some sailing and that is giving me the opportunity to cook in the galley kitchen of the yacht, SV Defiant.
It’s much smaller than I’m used to at home and with space at a premium, our host Lisa has organised it perfectly and that makes it a very cook friendly space. Everything you need to cook a meal is included – a two ring gas burner, an oven and a microwave.
There’s a fantastic range of kitchen utensils, pots and pans, including extremely sharp knives – essential for dealing with the fresh fish we’re catching. Lisa has a tremendously well stocked larder of dry and tinned ingredients; along with a treasure trove of herbs and spices, and it’s the first port of call when a fresh fish lands in the kitchen. I love that kind of cooking – rather than having a recipe in mind, looking at the main ingredients and building the dish with what’s in store.
We’ve eaten really well and with limited space; one pot dishes have made the cooking more manageable and of course there’s the added bonus of fewer dishes to be washed.
New Zealand has a fantastic coast line for fishing and is blessed with a natural bounty of great fish. Kia Morna – Food of the ocean – is plentiful here.
Blue cod are endemic to New Zealand and we found them in plentiful supply although restrictions are in place to control the numbers caught and all had to be over 33cm. Our catch of four was within the legal limits in the Marlborough sounds. Restrictions are also in place regarding the transportation of filleted blue cod in this area and it’s not unusual for fisheries officers to board pleasure boats to check the size of the catch. Filleting blue cod in advance of cooking means the officers are unable to tell if the whole fish was of legal size.
This recipe came from the ingredients we had in stock in the board pantry and the freshly caught blue cod provided by our eager hunter gatherers.
Blue Cod
The hunter gatherers go off in search of fish.
| Servings | Prep Time |
| 4 People | 15 Minutes |
| Cook Time |
| 35 Minutes |
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This is a healthy and robust dish using fish, potatoes and vegetables. I used what I had the hand along with the freshly caught fish - the dish can be easily varied using different vegetables & fish.
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- 500 G Blue cod -fillets I used 4 freshly caught blue cod which we skinned and filleted.
- 2-3 tbsp olive or rapeseed oil
- 50 g butter
- 1 medium Onion - sliced
- 4 Garlic cloves - sliced
- 4 medium potatoes - sliced
- 1 leek - sliced
- 1 red pepper sliced
- 2 tsp mixed or Italian herbs
- 1/2 tsp dried chilli flakes
- 300 ml dry white wine
- 100 ml water
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1 juice of 1 lemon
- Season the fish with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Optional - I marinated the blue cod fillets with olive oil, a squeeze of lemon juice and a chopped garlic clove and set aside before cooking the veg.
- Heat the oil and butter in a large sauté pan - deep enough to hold all the ingredients.
- Add the onion and cook for 3-4 minutes until softened. Add the garlic and continue cooking for 1-2 minutes.
- Add the potatoes and sauté, stirring occasionally until they start to colour and soften. Add extra oil and butter as required.
- Add the leek and red pepper and cook, stirring gently for a further 5 minutes. Add the herbs and chilli flakes.
- Stir in the wine and water, bring to a simmer, season and continue cooking until the potatoes and vegetables are almost cooked.
- Add the fish, cover and reduce the heat to low. The cooking time will depend on the type and thickness of the fish. The small blue cod fillets cooked in approximately 10 minutes. The fish can also be browned in a separate pan before adding to the main dish.
- Once cooked, check season, add a squeeze of lemon juice and serve with the remaining lemon wedges on the side.
Link up.
I’ve also added this recipe to the #recipeoftheweek link up at Emily Leary’s, A Mummy Too blog.
