Key recipe - miso cod

Miso and Soy Marinated Cod with Pak Choi, Broccoli & Noodles

This is a great staple recipe that you can adapt once you've learned it. I'd serve it at a lovely casual dinner party for friends. It's also great for a mid-week meal. This recipe is incredibly adaptable and versatile, which is what makes it so great.

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp honey
• 1 tbsp white wine vinegar
• 1 tbsp white miso
• 1 tbsp light soy sauce
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 green chilli, finely sliced
• 1 tbsp grated fresh ginger
• 1 tbsp sesame oil
• 4 cod loins (or other similar fish haddock, hake, salmon if you prefer)

To Serve

• 2 Pak Choi, quartered
• 200g tenderstem broccoli
• 4 nests of dried wholewheat, buckwheat or rice noodles
• 2 tsp toasted sesame seeds and a little chopped spring onion

Instructions

Whisk together the honey, vinegar, miso, soy sauce, garlic, chilli, ginger and sesame or olive oil in a bowl.

Meanwhile, preheat the grill on high. Lay the fish onto a baking/parchment paper-lined tray and pour over the marinade. Grill for 8-10 minutes (depending on the thickness of your fillets) or until the fish is cooked through and the glaze is golden and sticky.

While the fish is cooking, prepare the noodles and vegetables. Steam the Pak Choi and tender stem broccoli for 3-4 minutes, or until just tender. If you are using large Pak Choi, they may need another couple of minutes. Prepare the noodles as per the packet instructions.

Serve the fish with noodles, pak choi and broccoli. Scatter over the spring onion and sesame seeds (if using).

Pesto

To vary the dish to a pesto version or a harissa version, use the ingredients below:

• 1x Cod Fillet
• 2 tsp Fresh Pesto (use this in place of your marinade)
• 1 tsp Pine Nuts, toasted
• 50g Red Lentil Spaghetti (replaces the noodles)
• 40g Courgette, steamed (replaces the pak choi or broccoli)
• 40g Garden Peas, steamed (replaces the pak choi or broccoli)
• Basil leaves, to garnish
• Drizzle of Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Harissa

• 1x Cod Fillet
• 2 tsp Harissa Paste (use this in place of your marinade)
• 1 tsp Pumpkin Seeds
• 50g Wholewheat Noodles
• 40g Cavolo Nero, steamed (replaces the pak choi or broccoli)
• 40g Green Beans, steamed (replaces the pak choi or broccoli)
• Coriander leaves, to garnish
• Drizzle of Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Key Question

When you roasted the garlic with its skin on with the tomatoes, you later added all this to the pan with the spinach? Is it ok to eat cooked garlic skins?

Answer

Although garlic skins are harmless to eat, they are rather papery and would not be enjoyable. I would suggest squeezing the garlic out of its skin as you add it to the spinach, which should be easy to do as it will be soft.