Parmesan seared cod with pesto zucchini and lemon zest
On Saturday, I casually whipped up this seared pesto-y cod dish. It was great. Well on the way home from work last night, I realized I was either having cod for dinner.... or it would end up in the trash. The benefit of buying fresh fish is that you could put it in the freezer.... but I'm not always the best at digging things out of the freezer... so cod for dinner it is!
Juts like the first round of this meal - so many of the ingredients came from my garden. While I'm not opposed to making the same dinner twice, I enjoy the challenge of making something different without a whole lot of effort. I bought this "zoodler" in July on Amazon and had barely used it. I think in my heart of hearts I knew that I only wanted to zoodle sweet potatoes into french fries.... and not as much zucchini into healthy spirals. But- I'm swimming in zucchini now so this is where we are.
A few notes:
- Fish // This was a 4 oz filet again... and I still think this is the perfect serving size.
- Zoodles // I am absolutely an amateur zoodler. But, I "zoodled" the zucchini and then took a slightly extended sunset walk while they rested. I saw a video online about how you need to let zucchini drain since it's so wet? I'm not sure but I enjoyed the walk.
- Pesto // This is the same pesto as I used on the seared pesto-y cod dish. I also used it on two breakfast sandwiches. A bit garlicky for breakfast sammys for some reason but not as obvious on fish.
- Using a food processor, prep and make your pesto. I was only cooking for 1 and not measuring so my ingredient amounts are less than helpful. But combine, a handful of basil, 3-ish leaves of mint, 1 clove of garlic, and maybe 1/3 cup of parmesan cheese. Pulse until it begins to form a paste. Then add in the olive oil while the processor is running. Stop adding oil when you are at the consistency you prefer.
- Set your skillet to a high heat with a bit of olive oil. Pat dry your fish with a paper towel and then press into a dish of flour and parmesan (About a 50/50 ratio). Flip and press in both sides of the filet one or two more times.
- Add the fish to the skillet and let cook for about 3-4 minutes on either side depending on thickness. This fillet was pretty thick. Remove when the fish flakes as you fork it. Need more information? Google how to cook white fish.
- Make your zoodles... and then toss them in the pesto. Optional? Add some capers. I let mine sit for about 10 minutes while I made the fish and they really softened nicely.
- Plate your fish and zoodles then zest a bit of lemon above it all. Enjoy!
white fish fillet
flour
basil
mint
grated parmesan
garlic
zucchini
capers
lemon
Zoodle your 💚 Out!
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