Pan-fried cod with persillade and Le Gruyère AOP pommes aligot
Simple to prepare but an absolute joy to eat, this minimalist dish of roast cod comes topped with crispy breadcrumbs and persillade, a French sauce made from blitzed parsley and garlic butter. Alongside is a generous dollop of pommes aligot: silky mashed potato loosened with crème fraiche and given plenty of oomph thanks to a liberal amount of Le Gruyère AOP cheese.
Ingredients
- 800g of cod fillet , skin-on, cut into 4
- olive oil, for frying
- 1 knob of unsalted butter
- 100g of sourdough breadcrumbs
- sea salt
- freshly ground black pepper
Persillade
- 100g of fresh parsley , end of stalks trimmed
- 200g of unsalted butter
- 2 garlic cloves , crushed
Pommes aligot
- 1.2kg floury potatoes , such as Desirée, Estima, King Edward or Maris Piper
- 200g of crème fraîche
- 1 dash of whole milk
- 1/2 garlic clove , crushed
- 400g of Gruyère , grated
Method
Begin by washing the potatoes and cook them whole and skin-on in a large pan of salted boiling water (20-30 minutes depending on the size of the potatoes)
- 1.2kg floury potatoes , such as Desirée, Estima, King Edward or Maris Piper
In the meantime, add a knob of butter into a pan and place over a medium heat. When melted, add in the breadcrumbs and stir around for a couple of minutes until they start to crisp up. Remove from the heat and set aside until ready
- 100g of sourdough breadcrumbs
- 1 knob of unsalted butter
Cook the parsley in salted boiling water for 1 minute, then plunge into iced water immediately to preserve the bright green colour. Squeeze out as much water as you can from it and roughly chop then add to a blender
- 100g of fresh parsley , end of stalks trimmed
For the persillade, add the butter to a pan and gently melt it over a low heat. Add the crushed garlic, stir and soften for a couple of minutes – don’t let it colour. Then add the contents of the pan to the blender with the parsley and pulse until smooth. Season to taste, transfer to a ramekin or small bowl and keep in the fridge until ready to use
- 200g of unsalted butter
- 2 garlic cloves , crushed
Preheat an oven to 220°C/200°C fan/gas mark 7. If you don’t have a metal handled frying pan, then put an ovenproof dish big enough for the cod fillets in to heat up at this stage too
When the potatoes are soft to the touch of a blade, drain them and peel off their skins (you can use rubber gloves to do this as they will be hot). The best result for pommes aligot is to mash the potatoes (preferably through a ricer) and then sieve them, so as to be completely sure there are no lumps. Add the smooth mash back to the pan
Pat the cod skins dry with kitchen roll and season with salt and pepper. Add a little oil to a frying pan, heat until smoking, put the fish in skin-side down, press down and turn the pan down to a medium heat. Cook for 2 minutes then transfer the cod to the oven (in the pan if ovenproof or into the hot dish) and cook for a further 10 minutes
- 800g of cod fillet , skin-on, cut into 4
- sea salt
- freshly ground black pepper
- olive oil, for frying
As the fish cooks, place the mashed potato over a low heat. Stir in the crème fraiche with a splash of milk and the crushed garlic. It needs to be unctuous and smooth – easy to stir with a wooden spoon
- 200g of crème fraîche
- 1 dash of whole milk
- 1/2 garlic clove , crushed
Add in the cheese and stir robustly until it’s all melted. It needs to be glossy and not sticking to the pan. If you feel it needs to be runnier, then add a little more milk. Season to taste
- 400g of Gruyère , grated
When the timer’s up on the fish, take it out of the oven, turn it over (skin-side up now), top with a spoonful of the persillade, a sprinkling of toasted breadcrumbs and put back into the oven for a further minute
Place a fillet of cod onto each plate with a generous spoon of pommes aligot on the side and serve immediately
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Pan-fried cod with persillade and Le Gruyère AOP pommes aligot
