Compound Butter Cod & Lemon Spaghetti
Is it me or should pasta and fish go together way more often than they usually do?
The only very specific ingredient that this fabulous weeknight dinner needs is cod. A beautiful, tall, fresh piece of cod. The rest? Almost all pantry ingredients.
The fish almost gets confit-ed in the delicious compound butter (That has tons of savoury anchovy and capers). And goes amazing with the sweet, acidic spaghetti that has been deglazed with white wine and lemon juice. (It makes the most addictive pan sauce that I fortify with a hefty pinch of chile flake, for added spice).
ingredients: (serves 4)
1 Cod fillet
2 lemons
1/2 can of anchovies (or 5 fillets)
2 tbsp brined capers
1 1/2 sticks of unsalted butter
500g spaghetti
1 cup white wine
6 cloves of garlic
2 cups fresh parsley leafs
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp freshly cracked black pepper
Kosher salt to taste
instructions:
Preheat your oven to 350ºF
Finely chop your anchovy fillets and capers
In a large plate, mash up 1 whole stick of room temperature butter and add the anchovy and capers
Zest one whole lemon into the compound butter.
Mix well and shape into a ball. Set in the fridge to solidify
Chop your fillet into 4 equal pieces and slice a lemon into thin slices (removing any seeds inside).
On a small baking sheet, place your lemon slices and on top your fish pieces. Season with salt.
Get your compound butter out of the fridge and slice into four large pieces. Place the piedes of butter on top of each cod fillet.
Place in the oven to cook for 25 to 20 min
In the meantime, slice your garlic thinly and place in a cold pan along with your remaining butter, olive oil and your freshly cracked pepper and place over medium heat so that the garlic cooks slowly and until it’s tender and very fragrant.
Add your spaghetti to a boiling pot of water that’s been generously seasoned. It should taste as salty as sea water! Cook your pasta for 5 to 6 minutes.
While your pasta is cooking and once the butter is bubbling and the garlic is ready, stop the cooking adding your wine and lemon juice. Season with a pinch of salt. Mix well and reduce over medium flame. Add a pinch of chile flake and mix well.
Once your spaghetti is pliable but still a bit uncooked in the centre, lift from the water using metal tongs and place in your pan with the butter, lemon, wine sauce.
What you want in this stage is to mix the pasta with the sauce, moving it energetically, adding a bit of pasta water if the pan looks dry. You’ll notice how moving the pasta in the pan, not only mixes it with the sauce, but it makes the sauce and the pasta water emulsify and thicken into a rich sauce.
Once your fish is ready, remove from the oven and let rest.
Once your ready to serve, add your chopped parsley into the pasta and mix well. Remember, if you see that your pasta looks a bit dry, add more pasta water little by little and continue to toss the whole thing energetically. Serve in a plate a portion of spaghetti on a plate and on top, a lemon slice with cod. Dress the plate with a spoon full of the melted butter from the bottom of the fish sheet tray, more lemon juice, a pinch of salt, and if you’re like me, a bit more chile flake and black pepper.
