Pan Roasted Black Cod, porcini mushroom sauce, pickled shallot, thyme

Last month in the post Building Flavors  we worked through a dish of Ahi Tuna, Udon and braised greens with a spicy soy and ginger sauce.  Since we had such interest in the dish and the idea of adding flavors to a dish and ingredients we’re going into round 2 of Building Flavors.

This time we’re going to stay with the seafood theme for the main ingredient and fiddle around with the sauce that goes with it.

For the fish part of this dish its going to be Black Cod aka Sablefish. Here is we go off a bit about what we eat and why. Black Cod is  a terrific, unctuously flavored and textured fish that works equally well for roasting in the oven or on top of the stove in a saute pan.  It also will give excellent results when steamed or poached.  Because the fish live deep in the cold waters off the north Pacific Coast its flesh possesses a good amount of natural oil which translates to a beautiful  moistness when cooked.  (Note: this moistness means its easier to cook without worrying about drying out it it sits in the heat a little too long.)   Another big plus is its rated Best Choice  by the Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch Guide.  Essentially this means that the species’ population is in good shape and abundant due to the good and efficient fish stock management by both the fishermen and government agencies.  As today’s fish market have more than  their share of pitfalls and questionable choices having a seafood that rates this good is…..a really good thing, especially for the fishermen.  Eat this fish with a clear conscious.

Now let’s get cooking.  This dish will take you about 15 minutes to pull together.

Serves 2

• 12 oz Black Cod filet (divided into two 6 oz pieces, bones removed)
• 4 oz medium regular mushrooms sliced thin (white or brown is fine)
• 1 clove garlic, minced or chopped fine( a microplane works super for this)
• 1/2 oz dried Porcini Mushrooms soaked in 2 Tablespoons warm water (shoot, if you happen to have fresh then hey, use them for sure)
• 2 sprigs fresh thyme
• 2 1/2  Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1/4 cup white wine
• 1 cup chicken or vegetable broth
• 1 teaspoon fennel seeds
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/8 teaspoon black pepper fresh ground
• 1 shallot, peeled and diced small
• 2 Tablespoons white wine vinegar

Timing for this dish goes as follows.

1. Season Fish
2. Prepare and Cook mushroom sauce
3. Pickle shallots
4. Cook Fish
5. Reduce/ finish sauce and plate

First pre-heat the oven to 400F.

If the filets are a bit large trim them to 6 oz pieces.  You will find a line of bones down the middle of the front third of the filet.  Trim these out by cutting a V shaped cut around them.(you can also have your fish counter person do this for you).  Season the fish with the crushed Fennel Seed. kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper. Set this aside while the oven heats up and we get the sauce going

In a small bowl mix the diced shallots with the white wine vinegar, a small pinch of salt, a small bit of black pepper and 1 tablespoon of the olive oil.  Let this sit and marinate as the rest of the dish takes shape.

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Next its sauce time. In a large bowl combine the sliced mushrooms, minced garlic, thyme, 1 1/2 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil, a pinch of salt and black pepper

Heat a sauce pan or non stick saute pan heated over medium high heat to get it nice and hot.  Add the musrhooms to the pan and cook over a medium high heat for about 3 minutes stirring occasionally.  We want to get some color on them that will help develope a richer flavor.  Think Umami.

While the mushrooms are cooking pull the soaking dried porcini mushrooms out of the liquid and chop up into small pieces.

Add the chopped porcini to the pan with the rest of the musrhooms and give a stir.  If it looks like its going too fast for you just turn the heat down low.

Next add the white wine.  Let the wine cook down till it pretty much disappears.  Next add the  soaking liquid from the dried mushrooms and the stock.  (Note:  If you are so inclined this is where you could add a 1/4 cup or so of a rich meat stock or demi.  One trick we do in restaurants is to make a small stock of mushrooms, onion, carrot and celery with thyme.  This can be reduced down and strained and saved for occasions like this)

Soon you’re going to enjoy the heady aroma of wild, forest mushrooms filling the kitchen.  Reduce the heat on the pan and let it simmer slowly while you finish the fish.  There, sauce is almost good to go.

Now we cook the fish and get ready to have dinner.  Heat a 8 -10 inch non-stick pan.  Add 1/2 tablespoon of the olive oil and swirl the pan to coat.  Slide the Cod filets into the pan and keep the heat at medium high.  Place the pan with the fish in the oven.  Roast the fish in the oven for about 3-5 minutes depending on the size of the filets.

When the fish is done pull the pan out and let it rest for 3 minutes while you finish the sauce and pull togther any side dishes. Using a wide flat, spatula transfer the cooked fish to your dish.  Spoon out the mushrooms over the roasted cod.  One of the tricks here is not to just dump the sauce on the fish but to actually “spoon the musrhooms” on top of the fish leaving the mushroom liquid in the pan.  If its a bit too thin you can give it a quick and furious blast of heat to reduce it down to a glaze like texture.  Then spoon the reduced liquid AROUND the fish in a drizzle.  Its gonna look way cool.

Next spoon a teaspoon or so of the pickled shallot mix around the fish in several places on the plate.  The idea here is that the sharp bite of the pickled shallot will cut through the richness of the cod and mushrooms.  I like to add a few torn leaves of radicchio or cress to the plate as a counter point on the palate.

Serve with some roasted potatoes or a grain like farro.