salsa verde

Have you ever seen cod cheeks at the fish store? I don’t often see them but grab them whenever they appear. They look like large scallops (and I think are sometimes used as a cheat for them). The meat is near the bone and makes a flavorful dish.

Cod Cheeks

I find they are best simply sautéed in a combination of butter and olive oil, a little finely chopped garlic added at the end, then a splash of white wine to finish. I served them with spicy lemon salsa verde. You could use chopped parsley and it would be good as well.

1 lb of fresh cod cheeks
2 tablespoons of butter, divided
2 tablespoons of olive oil
1 finely chopped garlic clove
¼ cup of dry white wine
Salt to taste
Optional chopped parsley or spicy lemon salsa verde

Cod Cheeks

Pick over the cod cheeks, cutting out any hard bits.
Melt 1 tablespoon of butter with the olive oil in a large skillet on medium high heat.
When the butter has melted and the foaming has stopped, add the cod cheeks to the skillet.
Brown on one side; then turn and brown the other. Continue to cook until they are opaque and white into the center.
Remove the cod to a warm bowl and add the chopped garlic to the skillet, turning the heat down to medium. Cook until softened, do not let the garlic brown or it will be bitter.
Add the white wine to the skillet and bring to a boil. Reduce until beginning to look syrupy, and then add the last tablespoon of butter. Stir until it melts into a smooth sauce.
Briefly return the cod cheeks to the sauce to coat and serve warm with a chopped parsley garnish or salsa verde.

Cod Cheeks with Spicy Lemon Salsa Verde

I’m going to share this with the gang at Angie’s on Fiesta Friday #58.

Fiesta Friday

Salsa verde is a green herb sauce with an olive oil base. It is amazingly adaptable to what you have on hand and at its simplest consists of only parsley, garlic, olive oil and salt. In the book “Twelve Recipes” by Cal Peternell, he lists an amazing number of variations. Replace the parsley with basil (a simple version of pesto), cilantro, or chervil; or add a bit of rosemary, sage, and savory (finely chopped) along with the parsley; or add a chopped hard-boiled egg; anchovies are good; capers, chopped pickles…I think you get the picture.

This is a basic sauce that will last a week in the fridge. It has endless uses and will dress up everything from scrambled eggs to roast cauliflower. I used the last drops in a pasta dish (look for a future post) and it was delicious.

This is simple to make, you could hand chop everything but I simply put everything in my food processor and chopped them until it was a lovely green mess. The chili adds a punch; add a whole one if you like more spice. I wanted the lemon to shine through and kept the heat in control. A pinch of red pepper flakes would work if you don’t have a chili handy.

The sauce is a spring day in the middle of winter.

Spicy Lemon Salsa Verde

1 bunch of cilantro, roughly chopped
1 bunch of parsley, roughly chopped
2 lemons – zest and juice
1 large shallot, skinned and roughly chopped
2 cloves of garlic, skinned and roughly chopped
½ Serrano chili, seeded and roughly chopped
1/3 cup of olive oil
1 teaspoon sea salt

Spicy Lemon Salsa Verde

Dump all the ingredients except the olive oil into the bowl of your food processor and process until finely chopped.
Add the olive oil and continue to process until it becomes a smooth sauce.
Taste for salt, mine needed the entire teaspoon.

Salsa Verde

Done!

Spicy Lemon Salsa Verde

It was wonderful on a simple vegetable side dish of roast cauliflower steaks and elevated a somewhat bland (but amazingly adaptable) vegetable to new heights.