Cooking Fish For Dummies – Cod With Stewed Leeks And Tomato

Everyone needs some easy, delicious and healthy recipes in their arsenal that can be whipped together in mere minutes when the munchies come. I love this salad and you see lots of variations of this in salad bars and deli's all around Dublin. It couldn't be easier to make and is gorgeous on its own, but also makes a perfect side salad to a piece of meat or a summer BBQ.

This took me about 5 minutes to make and I was taking my time, so see how quick you can throw it together!

Instructions

Step 1

The ingredients are all simple to find but the real key here is getting a lovely fresh piece of fish. Look for a nice big chunky piece as it will always taste better. The smell should be clean and fresh.

Step 2

Cut the leek in half lengthways. You'll find that they have a load of soil and grit in them because of the way they are grown. Give the bastard a good wash getting all that stuff out.

Step 3

Chop it all up real thin.

Step 4

Heat a good big frying pan or pot with a generous lashing of olive oil. Its good for you so don't be shy.

Step 5

Slowly start cooking the leeks over a low heat. They'll take a good 15 minutes so don't be an impatient bastard and let them cook slowly.

Step 6

Slice up the red onion as thin as you can

Step 7

Chop the shit out of the garlic so as it is really small.

Step 8

Cut your cheery tomatoes in half. No need to be precise here they'll get cooked down anyway

Step 9

Little sauce pan. Medium heat and another good lashing of olive oil. You get the picture here. Not rocket science is it?

Step 10

Fuck the onions and garlic in and cook them until they are bursting with flavour

Step 11

When they soften up and smell amazing lash in the tomatoes. This will form the sauce so let it cook down and mash the tomatoes up a bit.

Step 12

You'll want to keep stirring the leeks so as they keep getting soft while not taking any colour on.

Step 13

So at this stage you have the leeks cooking slowly and the sauce starting to mash up

Step 14

The sauce is the easiest thing in the world. It will all just start happening itself so you don't worry about being a smart bastard and doing a load of stuff, it really does it all in its own time.

Step 15

So with those two things on the go get the fish seasoned with a nice amount you salt

Step 16

Lash a bit of oil on to the skin side of the fish.

Step 17

Heat a griddle pan or frying pan up to a really hot temperature and lash the fish in skin side up. Don't be moving it around or anything. All you have yo do is literally place it in the pan.

Step 18

The leeks will have massively shrunk down and when they look like this you know you are laughing.

Step 19

Fuck in the entire bag of spinach.

Step 20

Stir that in and it will wilt down nicely.

Step 21

You still haven't touched the fish and you will see that the bottom half of the flesh is starting to cook through. When it gets to about 30% of the way up flip the bastard over.

Step 22

The skin should be nice and brown and crispy. Chop the limes up and lash them in to the frying pan. The juice will help cook the fish. This will take about another 3-4 minutes and again you don't have to touch it at all.

Step 23

So thats it, pull all the 3 pans together with the lovely rich tomatoes, healthy greens and place the fish up on top. Couldn't really be any easier. Lash the limes on to the plate as well as they will be delicious with their roasted flavour.

That really couldn't be easier and really just involved chopping and throwing things together in a bowl. There's no excuse not to eat healthily with gems that are this easy and delicious!