Green Salad with Cod

 

Last night we had good cod from the fish market. I pan seared it in olive oil. I got nervous that I would over cook it and ended up trying to turn it too soon and broke my beautiful fillet into pieces.  So, I served it over a green salad.

 

The salad was simple enough: romaine, cucumber, chives and a few avocado slices.  But the dressing was the key.  First I mashed one anchovy fillet with one clove of garlic and a pinch of salt to make a paste. Then I added black pepper, chopped chives and the zest/juice of one large lemon. I blended this mixture with 3/4 an avocado (1/4 was sliced on the salad) some olive oil and a touch of water to thin it out.

 

It was really good and very simple.  If you think you don't like anchovies, you probably don't realize you have had them in dressings and sauces in lot sof restaurants. It just adds a salt (like soy sauce) and background flavor. One goes a long way though.  I really like them, especially in a tomato/caper pasta sauce or ceasar dressing.  Delicious! They are fairly inexpensive, so I say give them a try. You don't have much to lose, and a lot of flavor to gain!