Miso Cod Traybake

Serves 2

A super easy & flexible, midweek dinner, packing tonnes of flavour. Switch up the veggies to use up whatever is in your fridge.

Tips:

Cod Marinade: The fish can be marinated up to 3 days in advance and stored in the fridge - the longer the marinade time, the stronger the miso flavour so it’s worth a bit of planning to get it extra delicious. That being said, it’s also delicious with just the 10-15mins it takes to prepare the rest of the ingredients, so don’t stress if you haven’t the time, or you’re just reading this as you’re about to cook! (Maybe try it next time though…!)
Cod Cooking: If you’ve been marinating your cod in the fridge, always allow it to come to room temperature before you start cooking. Preheat your pan until searing hot, THEN add the oil followed by the fish. Shake off any excess marinade before it hits the pan, to reduce the spitting (have a pan lid on hand in case you need to cover it briefly whilst it calms down!). You can also cook the cod in the oven on top of the vegetables for the last 8-12mins of cooking, however you won’t get the lovely caramelisation on the outside this way. But the option is there for those days where you don’t want the extra faff/washing up!
Lentils: The lentils really bulk this out into a hearty dinner add lots of extra plant protein and fibre. However, it makes a lovely lighter dinner/lunch without them too - try both ways and see which works for you!

Equipment.

sharp knife & chopping board

large oven tray

frying pan

food bag/tupperwear

2 chunky pieces of cod, fillets/loin, or any other meaty white fish

1 tbsp any neutral oil

Miso Marinade:

2 tbsp miso paste (red or white)

2 tbsp soy sauce

2 water

1 tbsp honey

Traybake:

250g flat/portobello mushrooms

4 spring onions

100g tenderstem broccoli

100g green beans

2 pak choi

150g beluga lentils, cooked like these (optional)

2 tbsp raw cashew nuts

Dressing:

2 tbsp sesame oil

2 tbsp soy sauce, plus extra to serve

2 garlic cloves, crushed/chopped

2 tsp freshly grated ginger, or 1 tbsp ginger & garlic paste

To serve (optional): sesame seeds, Extra soy sauce, Fresh chilli

Marinate the cod: Mix together the marinade ingredients and place in a food bag or tupperware with the cod, ensuring it’s coating all sides of the fish. Set aside at room temperature (or the fridge for up to 3 days)
Preheat the oven to 200c (fan)
Prepare the vegetables & place on a baking tray: cut the broccoli and green beans into roughly 3cm lengths, remove the root from the spring onions and cut into 3cm lengths, slice the chilli, cut the root off the boy choy and separate the leaves, wipe any dirt off the mushrooms and slice thickly
Mix together the dressing ingredients and drizzle over the vegetables. Mix to combine then spread it out as evenly as possible on the tray. Bake in the oven for 15mins. Scatter over the cashews & lentils (if using) for the last 5 minutes
Cook the fish: Meanwhile, preheat a frying pan on a very high heat. Once smoking hot, add the oil and the fish, brushing off any excess marinade from the fillets
Cook for 2-3 mins without moving - press into the pan with a spatula to help the caramelisation
Flip over for 30-60secs only, then transfer to a plate and allow to rest for 5mins (it will carry on cooking).
N.B. Cooking time will vary slightly depending on the thickness of your fish.
Serve the vegetables with the fish on top, with an extra drizzle of soy sauce if needed