Photo: David Loftus
Two Michelin-starred Chef Nathan Outlaw is one of England's most celebrated chefs. His recent cookbook, Modern Seafood, is a culinary homage to sustainable fish. Ready to discover your favorite new BLT recipe? It's enough to make you forget all about bread.
This cod "BLT" is a great dish to enjoy as a robust salad on a warm summer’s evening in the backyard. The cod works so well with the light fresh taste of the tomato and the crisp broiled bacon introduces a nice salty element. I like to serve the dish just warm, flaking the cod over the salad at the last minute.
Ingredients
- 1 Atlantic cod, about 3 1/4 pounds, scaled, cleaned, filleted and skinned
- 4 slices smoked lean bacon
- light canola oil for cooking
- 8 cherry tomatoes, halved
- sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
BLT sauce
- 8 vine-ripened tomatoes
- 2 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped
- 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 red chile, seeded and chopped
- 3 egg yolks
- 1 teaspoon English mustard
- 1 teaspoon white wine vinegar
- 1 1/4 cups light olive oil
- scant 1/4 cup heavy cream
To serve
- 2 Boston lettuces, washed and roughly torn
- 8 oven-dried tomatoes
- 2 teaspoons white wine or pickled shallots, chopped
- 10 basil leaves, roughly torn
Directions
- Well in advance, make the tomato stock for the sauce. Chop the tomatoes and put them into a bowl with the garlic, wine vinegar, sugar and chile. Season with a little salt and mix well. Lay a large piece of cheesecloth over a bowl, leaving plenty overhanging the sides. Tip the tomato mixture into the cheesecloth. Now bring the four corners of the cheesecloth together over the bowl and tie securely. Suspend the cheesecloth bag over the bowl in the refrigerator and let the tomato stock drip through into the bowl overnight or for at least 6 hours.
- In the meantime, lay the fish fillets in a dish and sprinkle evenly with about 2 ounces sea salt. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes to lightly salt the fish. Wash off the salt and pat the fish dry on paper towels. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours to firm up.
- To make the BLT sauce, whisk the egg yolks, mustard and wine vinegar together in a bowl, then slowly whisk in the olive oil to emulsify (as for a mayonnaise). Finally, whisk in the cream.
- When ready to cook the fish, heat your broiler to medium-high. Cook the bacon on the broiler rack until crispy on both sides. Remove and cut into small pieces. Set aside; keep warm.
- Oil the broiler tray and season it with salt. Place the fish on the tray with the cherry tomatoes. Drizzle with a little oil and sprinkle with a little salt. Slide the tray under the broiler and cook for 6 minutes until the fish is almost cooked, just a little underdone.
- In the meantime, arrange the lettuce over a large platter and scatter over the oven-dried tomatoes and white wine or pickled shallots. Whisk the tomato stock into the sauce and heat gently in a pan on low heat, whisking all the time; do not let boil.
- Flake the cod over the lettuce, add the cherry tomatoes and sprinkle on the crispy bacon and torn basil. Spoon the sauce over the cod and salad and serve straightaway.
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