Yellow and Red Cod with Pomegranate-Mango Salad

Yellow and Red Cod
with Pomegranate-Mango Salad

Serves 4

Four 1/2-pound cod steaks, skin on
1 tablespoon salt
2 teaspoons chili powder
2 stalks lemongrass, quartered lengthwise
1 teaspoon turmeric
A pinch of saffron threads or saffron powder
2 pomegranates
2 ripe mangoes, peeled, pitted, and cut into 1-inch chunks
2 tablespoons finely chopped shallots
1 tablespoon brandy or fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh cilantro

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Soak the fish in ice water for 15 to 20 minutes, or place it in a colander in the sink under cold running water for 15 to 20 minutes. Pat dry with paper towels. Rub with the salt and chili powder.

Crisscross the lemongrass stalks on a baking pan, making a rack for the fish. Place the fish on top of the lemongrass. Rub the right side of each steak with the turmeric and the left side with the saffron, so one half is bright yellow, the other orange-red. Roast for 10 to 12 minutes, until the flesh flakes easily.

Meanwhile, cut each pomegranate in half and remove the juicy seeds. In a large bowl, combine the pomegranate seeds, mangoes, shallots, brandy, and cilantro.

Divide the pomegranate-mango salad among four plates. Using a large spatula, place the fish on top, being careful to not let it fall apart (discard the lemongrass), and then serve.

In this elegant dish, the cod is colored by turmeric and saffron, flavored with lemongrass and chili powder, and served with a pomegranate-mango salad.

It is a tropical explosion of colors and flavors. After all, cod was traded for, among other things, exotic spices, so why not combine them in homage to that heritage?

Serve with a green salad.

Buy the Book!

from:
Kitchen of Light
The New Scandinavian Cooking
by Andreas Viestad
Photographs by Mette Randem
Artisan
288 pages; $35.00
ISBN: 1579652166
Recipe reprinted by permission.