Olive Oil Poached Cod with Beets, Sunchoke Puree

An elegant yet super easy dinner is cod poached low-and-slow in olive oil, served with a delicious sunchoke (Jerusalem artichoke) puree, spiralized cooked beets and roasted asparagus spears. Poaching produces the most tender results, with a flaky, soft fish full of flavor. Alternatively to using olive oil, you can poach cod in chicken or vegetable stock. The spiralizer is a great piece of equipment to have in your kitchen, as it makes noodle-like strips out of beets, zucchinis, potatoes, carrots and other delicious vegetables. I cooked the beets the night before in salted water, removed the skin with paper towels (wear gloves to keep your hands clean) and twirled them into beautiful, jewel-toned strings. Roasted asparagus, which is totally optional in this dish, is drizzled with oil and your favorite spices and quickly roasts at 425F for 8-10 minutes. To serve, use bowl plates, scoop enough of that delicious sunchoke puree into each plate, place beets on the side and top with fish. If serving, add asparagus spears to each plate. Sprinkle everything with mildly spicy red pepper (such as Aleppo), and top the fish with an herb salad of whole parsley leaves mixed with olive oil and seasoned with salt and pepper. Enjoy!

Ingredients: cod fillets, sunchokes, potatoes, beets, lemon, garlic, thyme, asparagus (optional), parsley, salt, freshly ground black peper,   red peper flakes, mildly spicy red peper (Aleppo, Harissa Spice).

For the fish: Preheat oven to 250 F. Pat the fish dry with paper towels. Season fillets with salt and pepper generously and let stand for 20 minutes at room temperature.

Cut lemon into thin slices.

Arrange lemon slices on the bottom of a small pot that will fit your fillets, place fish on top.

Add garlic cloves, thyme sprigs and bay leaf. Pour enough olive oil to cover the fish completely; you might need a little more olive oil than 2 cups (it will depend on the size/depth of your pot).

Sprinkle red pepper flakes on top. Bake for 30 minutes or until the fish is opaque and cooked through.

Peel sunchokes, cut them in half and put them into a pot with cold water (it will prevent them from browning).

Peel and dice the potatoes, add to sunchokes.

To make puree: Season the water generously and bring to a boil. Boil for 10-12 minutes, check for doneness by inserting a knife into sunchokes and potatoes. Once cooked, transfer potatoes and sunchokes with a slotted spoon into a blender or food processor, add butter and garlic powder. Blend until emulsified, check for seasoning.

To cook beets: Wash beets and place them into a pot of cold water, season the water generously. Bring to a boil, lower the heat and simmer for 1 hour. Check for doneness by inserting knife into beets, there should be no resistance. If beets still feel hard inside, cook them for another 20 minutes or so. Take them out and let cool slightly. Peel the skin off with paper towels.

Cut off beets’ stem end and secure beet, one at a time, into a spiralizer machine. Spiralize using the smallest blade.

Transfer beet noodles into a bowl, drizzle with olive oil, and season with salt and mildly spicy red pepper.

To roast asparagus: This is totally optional, but I love love roasting asparagus spears with a little oil and my favorite seasonings. Cut off 2-inches of asparagus's woody base. Use a vegetable peeler to peel off the skin from the bottom half of each asparagus spear, thus exposing the lighter green part of the stems.

Place spears onto a baking dish, drizzle lightly with olive oil, season generously with coarse salt and mildly spicy red pepper such as Aleppo or Harissa Spice. Roast at 425F for 8-10 mites, depending on asparagus spears' thickness.

Have all your ingredients ready, in one place. 

Smear the bottom of each plate with sunchoke puree, top with beet noodles on one side.

Top with fish. Sprinkle each plate with mildly spicy red pepper of your choice and if desired, top the fish with fresh herb salad- parsley leaves mixed with olive oil, seasoned with salt and pepper. Serve right away!

Bon Appétit!

Svitlana