Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 40 minutes
Total Time: 55 minutes
Ingredients:
- 1 to 1 1/2 lb cod or lingcod steaks
- Salt
- Flour for dusting
- 2-3 lb fresh tomatoes, or 16 oz can of crushed tomatoes
- 1 chopped medium onion
- 3 T. olive oil
- 1 finely chopped garlic clove
- 1 T. ground cumin
- 2 T. fresh chopped dill
- 3 T. olive oil, for sauteing the fish
Preparation:
Take the fish out of the fridge and salt it liberally. Set it aside.
To make the sauce, peel and seed the tomatoes if you are using fresh ones. This results in a better-tasting sauce, but is more work.
To peel tomatoes, plunge them into boiling water for 30-60 seconds (depending on size) and then into a bowl of ice water. The skins will crack and peel off easily.
To seed them, chop roughly and lift the pieces off your cutting board, leaving most of the seeds on the board. Swipe the board clean after each tomato. It's OK if you have a few seeds.
Alternately, leave the seeds and skins on the tomatoes, then run the whole sauce through a food mill set on a medium grate after it's cooked -- this is what I do.
Make the Sauce. Add three tablespoons of olive oil to a pan and heat it over high heat for a minute or two. Add the chopped onion and saute over medium-high heat until translucent, about 3 minutes.
Add the garlic clove and saute for another minute or two. Add the tomatoes and cumin and stir to combine. Test for salt, and add some if needed.
Bring the sauce to a simmer and let it boil down for 10-15 minutes; you want a thick sauce and you'll need to evaporate a lot of water.
Once the sauce is done, turn off the heat and set aside.
In another pan, heat 3 more tablespoons of olive oil over high heat.
Dust your lingcod steaks in flour and tap off excess.
Turn the heat down to medium and saute your fish, skin side down if there is skin on them. Cook this way for 5-10 minutes, or until you see the cooked portion of the fish reach about halfway up the sides. Don't let it cook too fast or you will burn the surface. Take your time.
Flip the fish and cook the other side until lightly browned, about 4-5 minutes.
To serve, spread some tomato sauce on the plate and top with the fish. Sprinkle fresh dill on top as a garnish.