Pan fried cod with marinated vegetables

Another staple of Soviet cuisine, this dish tastes a lot better than it looks. I have always been a fan of cod smothered in lightly pickled sofrito of carrots, onions and peppers, however, its rather sloppy appearance never made me want to serve this dish at a dinner party. And then one evening, on a lovely dinner date with my partner in Cape Town, I hit a culinary jackpot when the most gorgeous plate of cod and carrot cooked three ways landed on my table. There it was, the good old Soviet ‘fish under a marinade’ only as if it has undergone a much-needed makeover. I could not wait to get back to my London kitchen to test this new version! The final result left me very pleased: I could finally share my favourite ‘ugly’ dish in a new rather dashing guise. 

Serves 4 as a starter or 2 as a main 

For marinated vegetables

125ml of apple cider vinegar 

70ml of water

2 tbsp of caster sugar 

1 tbsp of salt 

1 small garlic clove, minced 

2 carrots 

1/2 red pepper 

1/4 white onion 

For the vegetable puree 

1 onion 

1 red pepper

1 carrots 

2 tbsp of sunflower oil

1 pinch of salt 

2 tbsp of tomato puree 

4 tbsp of water 

2 tbsp of chopped dill 

1 tsp of white wine vinegar 

2 medium or 4 small fillets of cod 

1 tbsp of sunflower oil

Maldon salt to taste 

First, let’s pickle the vegetables. To make the marinade mix apple cider vinegar, water, sugar, salt and garlic in a large bowl. Give it a good whisk with a fork to dilute the garlic a little. Peel and ribbon the carrots, thinly slice the onion and red pepper and place all vegetables in the bowl with the pickling mix. Leave in the fridge for 30 minutes to an hour. 

Next, we will make the vegetable puree upon which our crispy fried cod will rest. Roughly chop the onion and pepper, grate the carrot and fry in 2 tbsp of sunflower oil with a pinch of salt for 5 minutes. Add the tomato puree, water and chopped dill, and fry for further 5 minutes. Taste for seasoning and adjust if necessary. 

Transfer into a food processor and blend with a tsp of vinegar until a smooth puree is created. 

Set aside and keep warm.

Finally, pan fry the cod to perfection. Heat up a tbsp of oil in a non-stick frying pan, and when the oil is very hot but not smoking, add the cod fillets skin down. Season with salt and fry without disturbing for 5 minutes. Carefully turn the fillet over and fry for another 2-3 minutes. You will see how the flesh will change its colour from translucent to solid white. Season the crispy skin with more Maldon salt and transfer to a paper towel, while you prepare the plate.

To dish up - add 2 tbsp of vegetable puree in the middle of the plate, proudly place the perfect cod on top and decorate with a handful of marinated vegetables. Make sure you drain the excess pickling juice before adding them to the plate. Drizzle with some sunflower oil and drop a few springs of dill to add a touch of green. 

Recipe from Salt & Time