Monday, January 16, 2012

Kitchen Diary 2012 - Cod baked in a cheesy sauce with roasted veg


First: the veg.

- Chop some flowerets of cauliflower and broccoli.
- Slice up ½ red bell pepper
- Slice off a few rings of an onion and chop those in half
- Put the peppers and cauliflower in a hot pan, sprinkle over some salt, cover and cook until they start to soften.
- Add onions, broccoli, and some red pepper flakes: cook a little more.
- Line a baking sheet (we’re partial to our ¼-sheet pan) with nonstick foil. Drizzle a little olive oil on the bottom, toss in the veg, and pass a thin stream of olive oil over the top. Roast, in a 450F oven, until done.
- When vegetables are finished roasting, take out of the oven and toss with a crushed clove of garlic.

Next: cheesy sauce*

- Melt 2 Tablespoons butter in a small saucepan, when it’s hot, add 2 Tablespoons flour.
- Stir flour around with a whisk so that it cooks and starts to turn blonde.
- Add salt, pepper, and a dash of cayenne; lower heat to medium and slowly whisk in a cup of milk (1% is the default around these parts).
- While the sauce is cooking and getting thick, add a smashed clove of garlic and a bay leaf.
- When the sauce has thickened, give it a taste and adjust the seasoning. Fish out the garlic and bay leaf.
- Remove pan from heat and stir in ½ Cup of grated sharp cheddar.

Combine:
- In an oven-save bowl or dish, add the roasted veg. Slice up a cod fillet into healthy chunks and arrange over the roasted vegetables. Pour over the sauce, making sure everyone is covered. Bake for 15 minutes or so.
- If you’re so inclined, raise the oven rack at the end of the baking and turn the broiler on for a minute to brown the top.

*Next time we make this, we’ll probably skip adding the cheese to the sauce and just sprinkle it over the top before broiling. Also: since the broccoli seems to cook so quickly, we’ll just add it raw to the roasted vegetables before adding the fish and sauce.

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