We’ve had a breakthrough / personal epiphany / sudden realization / whatever chez nous.
Mon mari thinks he might actually like fish.
Well, he might like fish if he doesn’t have to clean it and it’s cooked perfectly and it has absolutely no bones.
It’s really the bone issue that has put him off fish. But he has (gasp!) ordered it of his own free will in restaurants in the recent past and has been quite pleased.
He was with me at the fish counter the other day and was apprising fish he might be willing to eat. He decided he would like a nice white fish, pan-fried, with lemon and capers.
In the interest of keeping his interest I opted for cod (no bones) and baking (easier for me).
I kept the lemon and capers.
We were both happy.
Baked Cod with Lemon and Capers
Total time: 30 minutes
Ingredients:
- 12oz (360gr) cod, halibut, or other firm, white fish, cut into smaller pieces
- 2 tbs olive oil plus a bit for baking sheet
- 2 tbs fresh lemon juice
- 3 tbs flour
- 1 tsp lemon pepper
- 1 tsp paprika
- 2 tsp parsley
- 1 lemon, sliced, pips removed
- 2 tbs butter
- 2 tbs white wine
- 3 tbs green olives, cut in half
- 2 tbs capers
- 2 tbs parsley
Instructions:
- Lightly oil baking sheet
- Mix remaining oil and lemon juice in a flattish bowl. It should get thick..
- Mix lemon pepper, paprika, and flour in another flattish bowl.
- Dip fish in oil / lemon, dredge in flour mixture and place on baking sheet.
- Bake, 400F (200C) for 12 – 18 minutes, depending on thickness, until done. Fish is done when it starts to turn opaque and flakes with a fork,
- While fish bakes heat butter and white wine in a small skillet.
- Add lemon slices and simmer until they start to soften.
- Add olives, capers, parsley, turn heat to low and keep hot until needed..
- Remove fish and put onto a platter, Spoon lemons and sauce around fish and serve.
We’ve been playing tourist again….
We really should be doing that all the time. One never knows what hidden gems one can find.
This is a very impressive church, perched on a hill in the center of the village but it doesn’t really look warm and welcoming. Sadly, I can’t tell you more as there was a service going on and we didn’t want to intrude.
I’ll happily go into a big church or cathedral in a big city during a service but it seems rather rude to do so in a small village.
Besides, it was market day and that’s more fun.
Some villages, like ours, have an open center. Some, like this one, have an old covered market in the center…. Which is rather nice for everyone on gray, rainy days.
Usually, the market building will have a first floor over part of it where the ‘offices’ were.
We weren’t allowed to go up, but I loved the old beams.
Some parts of this village were very, very old….
Like the building at the end of this street. You can’t tell from the photo but the corner of the building is on the corner of the street and worn away from years of traffic.
This is one of the many villages perched on a hilltop that we’ve looked at from a distance but never gone in.
Now we have.
We’re going to do it more often.
Votre mari sounds exactly like my mon mari when it comes to eating fish, except he has yet to order fish in a restaurant. I do make it at home occasionally and always check for bones! This recipe looks like something he would like. Love your village explorations.
“My mon mari” – so much for my attempting French!
Gloria, He has more faith in the fish in restaurants lol. I have been known to be wrong about the bones – and I can’t convince him to eat the fish the best way to avoid them – there is a way lol
I am with mon mari re bones …I get it !!!
I hate them – but I know how to be careful…. Usually…