Lemon butter cod with crispy potatoes
Flaky cod in a silky lemon butter sauce next to crispy little potatoes, the kind of plate that makes you feel very grown up.
- 45 min total
- 25 min hands-on
- A little more hands-on
- Serves 2
- About $6.40 a serving
- 670 calories
Dolly says: Read the steps once before you start. Everything goes smoother after that.
Ingredients
For 2 servings.
- 1 lb baby potatoes, halved
- 2 cod fillets, about 6 oz each
- 3 tbsp butter
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- ¼ cup vegetable broth
- 1 lemon, half juiced, half cut into wedges
- 1 tbsp capers, drained (optional)
- 2 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
From your pantry
- 3 tbsp olive oil, divided
- 1 tsp salt, divided
- ½ tsp black pepper, divided
- 2 tbsp all-purpose flour
Each serving has about 670 calories, 36 g protein, 47 g carbs and 39 g fat, and costs about $6.40 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Missing something?
- No baby potatoes? Red potatoes or yukon gold potatoes work.
- No cod fillets? Tilapia fillets work.
- No butter? Ghee works.
- No vegetable broth? Chicken broth works.
- No lemons? Limes work.
- No fresh parsley? Cilantro works.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
the oven to 425°F. the potatoes on a with 2 tablespoons of oil, half the salt and a little pepper, then turn them cut side down.
Preheat. Preheating means turning the oven on before you start, so it’s fully hot when the food goes in. Food that starts in a cold oven cooks unevenly and doesn’t brown the same.
How you’ll know: The oven beeps or its light clicks off, usually 10 to 15 minutes after you turn it on.
Toss. Tossing means gently lifting and turning food so everything gets coated, like pasta in sauce or vegetables in oil. It coats every piece evenly without mashing anything.
How you’ll know: Every piece looks glossy or evenly coated, with no dry spots hiding underneath.
Sheet pan. A sheet pan is a flat metal baking tray with a low rim all the way around. The rim catches juices, and the wide surface lets food spread out and brown.
How you’ll know: Everything fits in one layer with a little space between the pieces.
for 25 to 30 minutes, until the cut sides are deep and a fork slides in easily. Start the fish when they have about 10 minutes left.
Roast. Roasting means cooking in a hot oven, around 400°F to 450°F, usually spread out on a sheet pan. The dry heat browns the outside and brings out sweetness, especially in vegetables.
How you’ll know: The edges are browned and a little crisp, and a fork slides easily into the thickest piece.
Golden brown. Golden brown is the color of good toast, somewhere between yellow and light brown. It means the outside is cooked and crisp but not burnt.
How you’ll know: It looks like toast and smells toasty; dark brown with a bitter smell means it went too far.
Timer: 27 min 30 sec
Dolly’s tip: Cut side down is the whole trick. Flat against the hot pan, they turn crisp.the cod dry, with the rest of the salt and pepper, and dust both sides lightly with flour, tapping off the extra.
Pat dry. Patting dry means pressing paper towels onto food to soak up the moisture on its surface. Wet food steams instead of browning, so this is how you get a good sear and crisp skin.
How you’ll know: The surface feels tacky, not wet, and the last paper towel comes away barely damp.
Season. Seasoning means adding salt, pepper or spices to bring out a food’s flavor. A little at a few stages tastes better than a lot all at the end.
How you’ll know: When you taste it, it tastes bright and like itself, not flat and not salty.
Heat the rest of the oil in a large nonstick over medium-high heat until it . Lay in the cod and cook without moving it for 3 to 4 minutes, until underneath.
Skillet. A skillet is a frying pan: wide and flat with low, sloped sides. The shape lets steam escape, so food browns instead of stewing.
How you’ll know: It’s the pan you’d fry an egg in, and a 10 or 12 inch one handles most recipes.
Shimmering oil. Oil shimmers when it’s hot enough to cook: its surface looks rippled and wavy, like heat over a road. That’s your cue to add the food, just before the oil would start to smoke.
How you’ll know: The oil looks wavy and runs thin like water when you tilt the pan, with no smoke yet.
Golden brown. Golden brown is the color of good toast, somewhere between yellow and light brown. It means the outside is cooked and crisp but not burnt.
How you’ll know: It looks like toast and smells toasty; dark brown with a bitter smell means it went too far.
Medium-high heatTimer: 3 min 30 sec
Dolly’s tip: It sticks at first. When the crust forms, it lets go on its own, and that’s when you flip.Flip gently with a thin spatula and cook 2 to 3 minutes more, until the center is opaque and flakes with a fork. Move the fish to plates.
Medium heatTimer: 2 min 30 sec
Dolly’s tip: Cod is soft. Slide the spatula all the way under before you lift.Food safety: Fish is done at 145°F, when the middle looks opaque and flakes apart easily with a fork.
Turn the heat to low, add the butter and garlic, and for about 1 minute, until the butter and the garlic smells .
Stir. Stirring means moving food around with a spoon or spatula so it cooks evenly and doesn’t stick. Unless the recipe says constantly, every so often is plenty, and it gives food time to brown.
How you’ll know: When you drag the spoon across the bottom, nothing is sticking or scorching.
Melt. Melting means gently heating something solid, like butter or cheese, until it turns liquid. Low or medium heat keeps it from browning or burning.
How you’ll know: It’s smooth and liquid, and butter may foam a little but hasn’t turned brown.
Fragrant. Fragrant means cooking until you can clearly smell it, usually garlic or spices, often in about 30 seconds. That’s the moment the flavor is ready, just before it can burn.
How you’ll know: You can smell it from a step back, and garlic is pale gold, not brown.
Low heatTimer: 1 min
Pour in the broth and lemon juice to the pan, , and let it bubble for 1 to 2 minutes until slightly .
Deglaze. Deglazing means pouring a splash of broth, wine or water into a hot pan to loosen the browned bits on the bottom. Those bits are full of flavor, and this turns them into the start of a sauce.
How you’ll know: It hisses and steams, and the bits lift easily when you scrape with a wooden spoon.
Scrape up the browned bits. It means loosening the brown bits stuck to the pan with a wooden spoon, usually right after adding liquid. Those bits are concentrated flavor, and they melt into the sauce.
How you’ll know: The bottom of the pan looks clean again, and the liquid turns darker and richer.
Thicken. Thickening means cooking a sauce or soup until it’s less runny, by simmering it down or adding something like cornstarch. A thicker sauce clings to food instead of pooling on the plate.
How you’ll know: It coats the back of a spoon, and a line drawn through it with your finger holds its shape.
Medium heatTimer: 1 min 30 sec
in the capers and parsley, then spoon the sauce over the cod.
Stir. Stirring means moving food around with a spoon or spatula so it cooks evenly and doesn’t stick. Unless the recipe says constantly, every so often is plenty, and it gives food time to brown.
How you’ll know: When you drag the spoon across the bottom, nothing is sticking or scorching.
Pile the potatoes next to the fish and serve with the lemon wedges.
Plan this in Dollop, and get the grocery list
Dollop puts this dinner on a night that suits your week, lists only what you still need to buy, and walks you through each step while you cook.
