This cod in tomato sauce recipe is baked in the oven in just 30 minutes making it a quick, easy, delicious & nutritious mid-week meal winner!
Baked Fish in Tomato Sauce!
It is pretty rare of me to remember where recipes come from, but this one I seem to recall seeing on the TV.
British readers of a certain age may remember Ready, Steady Cook. Well, I saw this there back in the mid 90’s (pre Ainsley Harriot) and I have been cooking it since!
Oddly enough I have distant memories of my pan-fried skate wings recipe having its genus there too!
Growing up fish in tomato sauce meant sardines, but I grew out of that. Now sardines, for me, are much more likely to appear in fish cakes, like these salmon fishcakes.
But this recipe stays with me and I love it. It also transpires that cod with tomatoes is a classic combination, a fact that late teenage me had NO concept of at all!
The tomato sauce features both anchovies, capers and garlic and not a lot else.
It is a recipe that screams less is more and it is so simple. If you are one of those people that thinks that cooking fish is difficult, make this!
If you love this recipe and a bit of spice be sure to check out my macher jhol recipe. A Bengali fish curry that has been more than a little bit influenced by cod in tomato sauce!
Choosing the Fish.
Cod is a rarity to find here in Hungary so I indulge my love of it on occasions.
It is, however, a fish that is under threat from overfishing and I would not dream of cooking with it regularly.
The good news is that there are several alternatives out there that are sustainable and a perfect fit for this recipe.
Just like my pan-fried cod with peas or proper chip shop fish and chips the obvious substitute is pollock.
But whiting, coley and hake would also make a great piece of fish to cook this recipe with.
You need to make no alterations, it is just a straight swap!
Serving Suggestions.
You can take this recipe off in several directions in order to create a complete meal.
My personal favourite addition is green beans with almonds. A really old school French classic with plenty of butter.
Whilst we are being “naughty” with this very nutritious recipe then another option would be crispy fried potatoes.
It feeds into that fish and chip thing and that tomato sauce is just heavenly with salty potatoes.
I’m not a huge advocate of “pasta as a side” but I know many love it! If you are one of those people this would work wonderfully on a bed of pasta dressed with olive oil and garlic.
Baked Cod in Tomato Sauce Recipe
Cooking in just 30 minutes this baked cod fillet in tomato sauce is guaranteed to become a goto simple and nutritious meal.
Ingredients
- 300 g (10 oz) Cod Fillets
- 35 g (1/4 Cup) Shallot
- 2 Cloves Garlic
- 1 Anchovy Fillet
- 40 g (1/4 Cup) Capers
- 300 g (1 1/4 Cups) Tinned Tomatoes
- Pinch of Sugar
- 1 Tbsp Olive Oil
- Salt to taste
- Fresh Basil Leaves
Instructions
- Dice the shallot and garlic as finely as you can.
- Roughly chop the anchovy fillet.
- Heat the olive oil in a pan over a medium heat.
- Add the chopped garlic, shallot and anchovy and cook for 5 minutes.
- Roughly chop the capers.
- Add the tomatoes, capers to the pan and stir.
- Season with salt and sugar to taste and simmer for 5 minutes.
- Season the cod with salt and then add to the tomato sauce.
- You can spoon the sauce over the fish if you like, I prefer not to!
- Transfer to the oven and bake at 180°C or 350°F for 12-15 minutes.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
2Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 381Total Fat: 16gSaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 10gCholesterol: 125mgSodium: 1090mgCarbohydrates: 10gFiber: 4gSugar: 5gProtein: 48g
Calorific details are provided by a third-party application and are to be used as indicative figures only.