Baked Cod with Saffron, Tomatoes, and Fennel

Over the weekend I relearned an important lesson about cooking, especially for people like you and me who use so many cookbooks: never, ever let what a cookbook says override your own judgment.

I remember you telling me about a family friend back in Hawaii who was perplexed that a recipe she'd made wasn't very good. The dish was something like tuna-and-lima bean casserole, but worse. And of course it wasn't good -- it didn't sound good. One has to learn to judge which dishes might be novel but good and which will be bad. There's a line between trying new things and trying everything.

So, I'm reviewing a cookbook/reference about sustainable seafood for Abode. It's called Fish Forever, by Paul Johnson, and is so far quite wonderful. And I got so excited about the recipe for Orange-Scented Olive Tapenade. The recipe was intended for albacore, but the book said a milder fish like flounder or halibut would work well, too, and I had some turbot, so I used that. And it wasn't right at all. The fish was delicate and mild and not good at all with that big serious topping. And I should have known that.

The tapenade was good left over on bread. But here's a more successful recipe from the book. He calls it Mediterranean Baked Cod, but that's not a very descriptive name, so I'm calling it Baked Cod with Saffron, Tomatoes, and Fennel and including a few important modifications. It is simple and wonderful.

Preheat oven to 400, and with it a casserole or Dutch oven, lid and all.

Pour in:

- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 3 to 4 saffron threads (really! that few! I promise)
- 1 or 2 leeks, or one very sweet onion, chopped (about 1/2 cup)
- 1 small bulb fennel, cored and thinly sliced or chopped

Toss, cover, and return to oven for 10 minutes or until sizzling and beginning to brown.

Remove casserole and add:

- 3/4 cup dry white wine (or, most successfully, champagne. SO GOOD.)
- juice of 1/2 lemon

Let cool for a minute. Place on top:

- 12 to 20 ounces of cod fillets

Toss in a bowl, then dump over top of fish:

- 3 medium tomatoes, chopped, or 1.5 containers cherry or grape tomatoes, some halved
- 2 more tablespoons olive oil
- salt
- pepper

Cover, return to oven, and bake about 10 mor eminutes, until fish is cooked through. Serve over couscous or something else that can soak up a bunch of saffrony tomato broth.

I can't wait to make this with fresh garden tomatoes.

More on the book later this month in Abode.

Coucous and Friends

Couscous: "The Quickest Cooking Starch" or "Carbohydrate in Five Minutes." I used to feel guilty about couscous but now it's available in a whole wheat version (I'm probably not the only one who thought couscous was a whole separate grain. Actually it's little teeny balls of pasta). My Aunt Betty and Uncle Mario lived in Morocco for years, and we visited them there, and of course couscous in Rabat was not the modern five-minute kind. It was steamed in the top of the couscouserie while the stew cooked below.

But times have changed, and now we can buy instant whole wheat couscous, quick and nutritious. Here's an infinitely flexible recipe. Last night I needed something green, so I substituted frozen peas for the chickpeas, and it was just fine. This can round out any meal. It's from a faded newspaper clipping, so I can't give credit where it is due.

Couscous with Chickpeas and Carrots

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 clove garlic

1 carrot, peeled and grated

1 can chickpeas, drained

Saute garlic in olive oil in a saucepan for about 2 minutes. Add carrot and chickpeas and cook 2 or 3 minutes.

1 cup chicken broth, vegetable broth, or water

Add broth and bring to a boil. The stir in:

1 cup instant couscous

Cover, remove from heat, and let stand for 5 to 10 minutes. Stir and fluff with fork. Garnish with:

Chopped parsley or cilantro