Roasted cod, cauliflower and yams or maybe this is turning into a food blog

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A friend (www.pragmaticmom.com) let me borrow some great cookbooks a few weeks ago.  While I have enjoyed reading them,  I hadn’t yet tried any recipes.  Finally, I decided to try something from a wonderful book called Roasting: A Simple Art, (Barbara Kafka).  It has gorgeous photos and meals that feel just right for these cold, rainy, almost spring, days.  I made cod which I still cannot believe is $11.99 per pound.  I asked the nice guy at the fish counter at, where else, Whole Foods why it was so expensive.   He said cod is now overfished and it was $13.99/pound yesterday.  A more suspicious mind might wonder why the fish was discounted, but he had already assured me that the cod was delivered today.  So, on to the lovely cookbook – page 271 – Simple single cod fillet  because I am not yet ready to roast a whole fish (I may never be ready).  

Simple single cod fillet  

Serves 4 as a main course  

1 3/4 to 2 pound cod fillet (1 3/4 inches at the thickest point)  If not everyone likes fish, then you make Bell and Evan’s chicken patties for them from the freezer case (Whole Foods again) and get 1 to 1 1/4 lbs of the cod, or really, any thick fish would do). 

1 tablespoon olive oil  

Place rack in center of oven. Heat oven to 400 degrees (the recipe calls for 500 degrees but I am changing it because I am also making vegetables). 

Place fillet in a baking pan. Rub fillet and pan with oil. Roast, skin side up for about 12-15 minutes for a pound  (or about 10 minutes per inch – see above). There are great sauces listed to go with the fish but I am lazy and instead I added some sea salt and Herbes de Provence.  

Since I made this with roasted vegetables (sweet potatoes and cauliflower) I started those earlier. The sweet potatoes (roasted whole) at 400 degrees for 1 hour and cauliflower takes about 20-25 minutes,  So start the potatoes and add the cauliflower after about 35 minutes of cooking time.   I don’t do anything to the potatoes (other than put them on a pan or foil so they don’t mess up my oven if they split) and for the cauliflower, just drizzle it with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Put the fish in the oven after 45 minutes.   The veggies are tried and true – the fish was new for me.  

Served with a nice green salad and some cornbread from Whole Foods (told you I was lazy).  Enjoy!