• Choose a category
• All
• Classic-Fiction

spinach

¼ cup thinly sliced radishes

1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons

seasoned rice wine vinegar

1 tablespoon sesame seeds

½ teaspoon sugar

Black cod is an extremely rich fish, full of good omega-3 fatty acids, and therefore kind to novice cooks, as it is hard to overcook. I developed this recipe to downplay the black cod’s natural fattiness for a night when you want a lighter meal. The fish and spinach are steamed and served with the sake-infused steaming liquid and a quick radish-and-sesame pickle.

SERVES 4

Season the black cod generously with salt and pepper.

Add the sake, water, soy sauce, ginger, and 2 teaspoons of the sesame oil to a pot with a steamer insert (you could use your pasta pot and insert). Bring to a boil and then reduce the heat to a simmer. Simmer for 5 minutes. Add the spinach to the steamer insert (making sure the liquid is below the bottom of the insert), cover the pot, and steam the spinach for 5 to 7 minutes, or until wilted. Remove the spinach and set aside to cool. Turn off the heat, leaving the sake broth in the bottom of the pot.

In a small bowl, mix the radishes with 1 tablespoon of the rice wine vinegar. Let the radishes marinate until you are ready to serve.

Squeeze all of the liquid out of the spinach with your hands, and chop it into bite-size pieces. In a small sauté pan, toast the sesame seeds over medium-high heat until lightly browned and fragrant, about 3 minutes. Reserve 1 teaspoon for garnish. Grind the rest of the sesame seeds with the sugar in a spice grinder or mortar and pestle. Transfer to a small bowl and stir in 1 tablespoon of the sake broth, the remaining 2 teaspoons rice wine vinegar, a pinch of salt, and the remaining ¼ teaspoon sesame oil. Toss the spinach with this dressing. Place the spinach in a deep, wide serving bowl and cover to keep warm. Set aside.

Bring the sake broth back to a boil. Place the black cod pieces on the steamer insert and place over the boiling liquid. Cover the pot and steam the fish for 9 minutes per inch of fish (measured at its thickest point). The fish is done when a press of the finger reveals a sliding away, ever so gently, of the fish into the beginning of individual flakes.

To serve, top the spinach with the steamed black cod. Pour some of the sake broth over the fish and around the spinach. Squeeze the rice wine vinegar from the radishes and mix them with the reserved teaspoon of sesame seeds. Garnish the fish with the radish-sesame pickle.

PAIRING: Junmai-shu sake or gewürztraminer.

jerry’s black cod with shiso-cucumber salad and carrot vinaigrette

For the carrot vinaigrette:

¾ cup carrot juice

2 tablespoons chopped

shallot

1 teaspoon grated fresh

ginger

1½ tablespoons lemon juice

¼ teaspoon kosher salt

¼ cup peanut or high-quality

vegetable oil

For the black cod:

1 pound black cod fillet, cut

into 4 equal portions

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1½ teaspoons sugar

For the shiso-cucumber salad:

3 tablespoons seasoned rice

wine vinegar

1 tablespoon lemon juice

2 teaspoons grated fresh

ginger

1 teaspoon minced serrano

chile

2 tablespoons minced red

onion

1½ tablespoons chopped

fresh shiso, or 2 tablespoons

chopped mint or cilantro

1 English cucumber, cut in half

lengthwise, deseeded, cut

into thin half moons

For garnish:

2 fresh shiso leaves, sliced into very thin strips

A great recipe is based on three things: first, using the highest-quality seasonal ingredients; second, achieving a perfect balance of sweet, spicy, salty, bitter, and sour; and finally, it comes from a great chef whom you begged to contribute to your book. This one comes from the former chef of The Herbfarm Restaurant and the owner of Poppy in Seattle, Jerry Traunfeld. This is a winner of a dish that I adapted only slightly, and it fires on all fronts. Thanks, Jerry!

SERVES 4

To prepare the vinaigrette, in a small saucepan over medium-high heat combine the carrot juice, shallot, ginger, lemon juice, and salt, and cook until the liquid boils down to about one third of the amount