Cod on a chorizo and bean stew (cannellini or butter bean?)

Just to highlight, this recipe is great alone, without the cod – just a steaming bowl of chorizo and bean stew, with some crusty bread and a glass of red wine. Yum. But I thought I’d snazz it up and whack a fillet of cod on top, as cod and chorizo go together so well.

I popped to the market and picked up a little cod for £1.50 (and a lovely fresh whiting for 50p! Made fish pie with that, but it’s yet to be sampled…I’ll let you know)

Gave it a little fillet.

Chopped out the AMAZING, tasty little cod cheeks, put a little olive oil and black pepper on them. Chopped two little rounds of chorizo and fried them until their oils came out and they went crozzley, then pan fried the cod cheeks for literally a few secs either side (they were pretty tiny!) and that made for a rather fantastic canapé to keep the Man going until tea was ready…

Cook down some onions, garlic, oregano and chorizo first, then a splash of red wine. Let the alcohol burn off for a few mins then plop in a tin of chopped toms and a tin of cannellini beans (butter beans are actually tastier in this – their meaty roundness adds a little more depth and richness). Cook down for 20 mins or so, until the tomatoes have made a rich sauce.

I then just rubbed a little olive oil and seasoning into the cod and panfried it, skin side down, for a minute or so (flip for an equal fry but this way leaves you a more tender top and crispy skin). I steamed a few sugar snaps, and there you go.

Wintery tea for two.

P.S make some stock with the fish carcass left over! It’s a lovely delicate stock – a great recipe is if you cook polenta with it. Always stick in some onion, celery and carrot if you have it, but any leftover hard veg will add goodness and flavour (hence the slightly chewy bean additions). For a fish stock I always like to make it aromatic, so add herbs such as fennel seeds, star anise, cloves and black pepper alongside my usual bay. This makes it quite a distinct flavour which you can’t use for everything, but fish stock is pretty limited to fishy dishes anyway, so why not take the opportunity to stick lots of flavour in? x