Thursday, January 12, 2006

Cod with Clams

239. Cod with Clams (One & Two)

This dish is designed for one, but I increased quantities for 4 of us. Upon making it, I realised why Nigella designates it for a solitary supper - it's a bit fiddly to make. That's not to say it's impossible to make in larger quantities, but it just requires a bit more dexterity and care.

As I said in my previous post, I bought gummy shark instead of cod, but I think any white fish would be fine. To start, you melt butter and oil in a pan, and slowly heat some garlic slivers in it. Then you dredge the pieces of fish in cornflour and cayenne, and fry gently on both sides.


frying fish

Dump in your clams and pour in some sherry and water, clamp on a lid and let it boil until all the shells have opened. At this point, I realised that by the time all the clams cooked (I needed a kilo for four people), the fish would be disentegrating, so I carefully fished them out (what a pun!) and set them aside whilst the clams finished cooking. Once the clams are done, you remove them to a plate, and boil down the sauce with a bit of butter. Onto each plate goes a piece of fish, surrounded by the clams, and with the sauce poured over.


cod with clams


the table

We served it with Phillipa's Corn Bread, which was fabulous.

This dish was quite easy to make, and an unusual inclusion in my repertoire. It kinda tastes like moules marinière. My family really liked it too. Much better than the duck liver sauce, which was tolerable rather than delicious. Phew!

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

The cod/shark w/clams looks soooo good, with that loaf of crusty bread to soak up all the juices. Excellent!