Nana’s Kitchen: Baked Cod

Nana’s Kitchen: Baked Cod

Greetings, home cooks, welcome to Nana’s Kitchen,

As Lent continues I thought we would do a fish recipe. Some of our readers follow the Lenten practice of no meat on Fridays. Fish is a common meal on this day. Some of the local Catholic Churches have fish fries. Our local church does and it is great. Many in the community attend.

The fish of choice for this recipe is Cod. Cod is a mild flavored fish with a dense, flaky texture. It can be fried, grilled, steamed, baked, and broiled. Cod is from the same family as haddock, whiting, and pollock and is found in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. It is one of the most available fish and can be purchased fresh or frozen. Cod is considered best if frozen as it is flash frozen on the fishing vessel. Flash frozen preserves the freshness. Because cod is a smaller fish it contains less mercury as compared to larger fish such as tuna or swordfish. 

Baked Cod

Ingredients:
4 cod fillets, fresh or frozen
1 1/2 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
Salt and pepper to taste
1/4 teaspoon sweet paprika (optional)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees
Arrange the fillets in baking dish or pan, giving space for each piece.
Combine lemon juice, olive oil, garlic, thyme, salt, and pepper in small bowl. (add paprika if using)
Brush or drizzle juice mixture onto fish. Place slice of lemon on each piece of fish. 
Bake until flesh is opaque but still juicy about 15-20 minutes for fresh or thawed fish. 
If still frozen bake for 25-30 minutes.
An internal temperature of 145 degrees assures that your fish is properly cooked.
Serve and enjoy!

Hints:
This is an easy dish that tastes good.
However…. The fish smell in the kitchen was a little strong. Despite the use of the lemons.
I cleaned things up quickly and used air freshener. That did not work well. I did not open windows, probably should have.
Solution.. baked a coffee cake with cinnamon and brown sugar. No more fish smell. The cake smell was heavenly!
Moving on. If using frozen fish thaw according to package instructions. 
My fish was still frozen and it cooked longer. I checked the temperature after 25 minutes and added a few more minutes. The handy food thermometer making sure of safe eating.
The fish did turn out flaky and moist. 

Have a blessed Sunday.