Name: Baked Cod with Tomato and Olives
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 40 min
Yield: 4
Ingredients: 1 pcs onion; 0.5 pcs green zucchini; 3 cloves garlic; 4 tbsp olive oil; 1 can canned chopped tomato; 1 tbsp tomato paste; 1 dl water; 0.5 pcs vegetable stock cube; 800 g skinless cod fillet; 1 dl pitted black olive; 0.5 dl flat-leaf parsley

UntrainedChef

Tips from the kitchen

Pat the cod properly dry before salting it. Wet fish steams instead of staying firm, and it'll fall apart when you press it to check doneness.
Let the tomato sauce reduce a little before the fish goes in. A watery sauce in the dish means the cod ends up sitting in liquid rather than baking through.
Push the fish pieces down into the sauce so they're mostly covered. That keeps them from drying out on top while they bake.
Start checking at 10 minutes. Thin tail pieces cook faster than the thick middle cuts, so pull them as they turn firm and flake. Overbaked cod gets rubbery.
Crumble the half stock cube into the sauce while it's hot so it dissolves evenly. Taste before you add extra salt, since the cube and olives both bring salt.

Ways to vary it

Swap the black olives for capers if you want something sharper, or use both.
A pinch of chili flakes in with the garlic gives the sauce a bit of heat. Optional, but works well here.
If cod isn't around, the same method works with haddock or pollock. Just watch the timing since thinner fillets cook quicker.

Storage & leftovers

Keeps in the fridge for up to two days in a sealed container. It doesn't freeze well, the cod goes mushy once thawed. Reheat gently in a covered pan over low heat or in the oven at 150 °C just until warmed through, so the fish doesn't toughen up.