Salt and chilli cod served with a red onion and tomato salsa

This is a way of cooking cod so that it has a Middle Eastern or Moorish character.  This is supported by the use of chillies and the red onion and tomato salsa.  It is absolutely delicious.

Preparation Time: 25 Mins

Cooking Time: 9 Mins

Total Time: 24 Hrs

Ingredients

For 6 servings…

For the fish

175 gms          Flour  - plain

1 tbs               Pepper  - freshly ground, white 

1 tbs               Salt  - sea  

1 tbs               Chilli powder           

1                    Chilli  - red, hot - chopped      

1 tbs               Parsley  - chopped    

8 sprigs           Coriander  - chopped 

6 fillets            Cod         

For deep frying

                     Oil           

To garnish

                     Basil leaves

To serve

                     Red onion and tomsato salsa    

For the salsa

60 gms            Sugar  - light brown  

1                    Lime  - juice of        

3 tbs               Vinegar  - tarragon   

2 tbs               Olive oil    

½                   Chilli  - green hot, finely chopped          

½                   Chilli  - red hot, finely chopped 

1                    Onion  - chopped finely          

1                    Tomato  - beef, chopped        

2 strigs            Tarragon  - chopped finely      

                     Pepper  - freshly ground, black 

                     Salt          

To garnish the salsa

                     Tarragon  - fresh - chopped     

Method

To make the salsa…

Put the sugar, lime juice and vinegar in a small saucepan and heat gently until the sugar has dissolved.  Remove from the heat and add the olive oil, green and red chillies, onion, tomato and tarragon and mix together gently.  Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.  Allow to cool then chill for 30 minutes or, better for 24 hours.

Top with the extra chopped tarragon and serve at room temperature.

To cook the fish…

Put the flour, salt, pepper, chilli powder and chopped chilli into a food processor.  Blend together for 1-2 minutes.  Tip into a bowl and stir in the chopped parsley and coriander.

Coat the cod fillets with the flour mixture and then place them on a tray and chill for 1 hour.  Reserve the remainder of the flour mixture for later.

At the end of the hour, coat the fillets in the flour mixture again.  Heat the oil for deep-frying to 180°C.  Lower the fillets into the hot oil and cook for 5-6 minutes or until the fish floats to the surface.

Drain well on absorbent kitchen paper then garnish with a sprig of basil and serve with the red onion and tomato salsa.

Variations

The recipe works well with salt cod.

Wine recommendations

A robust white wine.

Conventional

     Côte Chalonnaise blanc

Interesting

     Jurançon sec

     Riesling

     Rioja blanc

     Vouvray sec