COD
2 tablespoons canola oil
4 (6-ounce) codfish fillets
2 springs thyme
2 cloves garlic, peeled and halved
fine sea salt and freshly ground white pepper
BASQUAISE SAUCE
3 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup finely diced yellow onion
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1/4 cup small diced Serrano ham or prosciutto
1/2 cup small diced red bell pepper
1/2 cup small diced yellow bell pepper
1 cup fresh tomato, peeled seeded and diced
1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme leaves
1/2 cup red wine
1 tablespoon chopped parsley
fine sea salt and freshly ground pepper
Espelette pepper*(or hot Hungarian dried)
COD
Heat a griddle or a griddle pan until very hot, add the canola oil. Season the codfish on both sides with salt and pepper. Add the codfish to the griddle or pan and sauté until the fish is golden brown on the bottom along with the thyme and garlic, about 6-8 minutes, lowering the heat if necessary to prevent from burning. Turn the fish over and finish cooking the fish for another 2-3 minutes, until a metal skewer can be easily inserted into the fish and, when left in for 5 seconds, feels just warm when touched to the lip.
Meanwhile, heat the basquaise until hot. Spoon basquaise onto plates, place sautéed cod in the center and serve immediately.
BASQUAISE SAUCE
Heat oil in a heavy pan. With a food processor, process onions & garlic to a paste.
Sweat until tender over medium low heat. Now process the ham and peppers into a rough dice. Saute in the onions/garlic mixture till peppers are soft. Dice the tomato in the food processor and add to the pan, stirring often for 20 minutes on low heat.
Add the red wine and reduce over medium heat until most of the liquid had evaporated. Stir in the chopped parsley and season to taste with salt, pepper and Espelette pepper. This can be done the day before and sit in the refrigerator till needed.
*The Espelette pepper (French: Piment d'Espelette; Basque: Ezpeletako biperra) is a variety of chili pepper that is cultivated in the French commune of Espelette, Pyrénées-Atlantiques, traditionally the northern territory of the Basque people.[1] On 1 June 2000, it was classified as a AOC product and was confirmed as a APO product on 22 August 2002.
The Johnson Family Cookbook