As I’m back to the “cook” role at home, one of the things that I miss the most about the cruise is the variety of fish that was served. My husband doesn’t really like fish (although he will eat salmon on occasion), so I rarely cook it at home. I really loved the following dish that was served on board though, so I will file the cod recipe away for when I’m doing large group cooking. If you like cod, polenta and/or eggplant, you will enjoy these recipes too.
North Alaskan Cod
Served with Creamy Polenta and Eggplant Caponata
Serves: 10
(Courtesy of Jason Drysdale, Norwegian Cruise Line Corporate Executive Chef)
Mascarpone Polenta:
Amount of Item
2 oz Polenta
4 oz Milk
1 oz Butter
1 oz Salt
½ t. White Pepper
2 oz Mascarpone Cheese
Method:
Bring the Milk, salt and white pepper to a simmer in a pot, add the polenta meal slowly stirring at all times, cook for 5 minutes slowly on low heat. Add the Mascarpone cheese and mix it well into the polenta. If your Polenta if too think, thin it out by adding more milk as needed, season to taste and serve as needed.
Eggplant Caponata:
Amount of Item & Notes
3 oz Red Wine
1 pc large eggplant Chopped into 1/2 inch pieces
2 oz Extra virgin olive oil
2 oz Onion Chopped
1 cup Marinara Sauce
1 oz Capers
2 oz Kalamata olives Chopped
2 oz Balsamic vinegar
1 oz Garlic Chopped
2 oz Sugar
1 oz Basil Chopped
1 oz Salt
1 oz Pepper
Method:
Place the eggplant cubes in a colander and sprinkle with salt. Shake the colander to coat the eggplant evenly with the salt. Set the colander in the sink and put a plate inside the colander so it is in direct contact with the eggplant. Place a weight on the plate so the plate will press down on the eggplant. (The purpose is to squeeze some of the sometimes bitter juices out of the eggplant. This is about a half an hour process.) Heat your oven to 375 degrees. Wipe off the eggplant to remove as much of the salt and clinging juices as you can. Spread the eggplant on a greased cookie sheet and bake for 35 minutes. The eggplant should be nice and brown by now. Heat the olive oil in a skillet to medium. Add the onions and sauté for about 4 minutes. Add the garlic, black olives and capers and cook another 2-3 minutes. In a small sauce pan, combine the balsamic vinegar and the sugar. Heat over medium until the sugar dissolves. Add the balsamic vinegar/sugar and the red wine to the eggplant mixture and reduce the liquid by half. Add the roasted eggplant, basil. Cook a minute or two to combine. Add the tomato sauce and simmer for 10 minutes. The mixture should be thickened to “dip” consistency. Serve as pictured above.
Wild Cod
Amount of Item
10 pc 6 oz Cod Fillet
1 oz Salt
1 oz Black Pepper
1 oz Olive Oil
Method:
Season the Cod Fillet with Salt, Pepper and Olive Oil. Grill both sides of the Cod and finish cooking in the oven, ensuring that the fish has a nice Golden Brown color on both sides. Serve as pictured with Mascarpone Polenta and Eggplant Caponata. (You can also add fresh green asparagus to the plate if you desire.)
Chive Butter Sauce (to sprinkle over the cod)
Amount of Item & Notes
2 oz Shallots
2 pc Bay leaf
2 pc Parsley Steams
.2 oz Black Pepper Corns
5 oz White Wine
10 oz Fish Stock
.2 oz Lime Juice
7 oz Butter Chilled/Cubed
2 oz Chives Chopped
4 oz Cream
2 oz Roma Tomatoes Diced
Method:
Place the following in a pot: shallots, Bay leaf, Parsley Stems, Black Peppers Corns, Dill, Fish Stock and lime juice. Reduce by ½ slowly. Strain and place into and clean pot. Add the White wine and slowly reduce by ½. Slowly add the cream and reduce by ½ again. Slowly whisk in the chilled butter cubes a few at a time. At this stage, the sauce will thicken a little. Finish with chopped chives as needed to retain the color at all times. Season and Garnish Sauce with Chives and Diced Roma Tomatoes to finish and serve.
One thing that I have noticed about some really great cooks/chefs is that they are not “cookbook” exact in their directions. There seems to be an assumption that there is already a basic knowledge of cooking by the reader. So, if any of the recipes that I post are confusing, just let me know. I will figure it out (or get) the more precise instructions…