Pan-fried cod fillets with lemon‑caper butter and wilted spinach

Instructions

1. 1

   Pat the cod fillets very dry with kitchen paper, then season both sides with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.

2. 2

   Heat a large heavy-based frying pan over medium–high heat. Add 20 ml olive oil and let it shimmer. Place the cod fillets skin-side down (if they have skin) and press gently for 10 seconds to prevent curling.

3. 3

   Sear the fillets skin-side down without moving for 4 minutes, until the skin is crisp and the fish is cooked about two-thirds of the way through.

4. 4

   Turn the fillets and cook for a further 2 minutes on the other side until just cooked through (the flesh should flake but still be glossy).

5. 5

   Transfer the fillets to a warmed plate and rest for 2 minutes.

6. 6

   Reduce the heat to medium–low. In the same pan, add the unsalted butter and the finely diced shallot; cook, stirring, for 2 minutes until softened. Add two crushed garlic cloves and cook for 30 seconds, then add the capers, the juice of half the lemon, chopped fresh parsley, a pinch of sea salt and a grind of black pepper. Swirl for 30 seconds to emulsify into a glossy lemon‑caper butter.

7. 7

   While the sauce comes together, heat the remaining 10 ml olive oil in a separate frying pan over medium heat. Add the remaining crushed garlic clove and cook for 30 seconds, then add the baby spinach and toss until just wilted, about 2 minutes. Season to taste with sea salt and black pepper.

8. 8

   To serve: spread a bed of wilted spinach on warm plates, place a cod fillet on top, spoon over generous amounts of the lemon‑caper butter, scatter chopped parsley and a little lemon zest, and finish with a final twist of black pepper.

Tips

• Pat fish very dry and let it sit at room temperature for 10 minutes before cooking to ensure even cooking.
• If your fillets have skin, cook skin-side down first and don’t move them — that’s how you get crisp, non-sticking skin.
• Use the same pan for the butter sauce to pick up the fond (browned bits) from searing; it adds flavour.
• Make the sauce gently — too-high heat will brown the butter and make garlic bitter.
• Leftovers keep in the fridge for 24 hours; reheat gently in a low oven (120°C fan/140°C conventional) to avoid drying out the fish.

Substitutions

• cod fillets → haddock fillets, same weight and cook time

  Stays close

• unsalted butter → olive oil (add a little at the end for richness), same volume

  Noticeably different

• capers → small chopped green olives, same volume

  Noticeably different

Nutrition

Per serving · estimated

300

Calories

28 g

Protein

4 g

Carbs

19 g

Fat

2 g

Fibre

2 g

Sugar

700 mg

Sodium

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