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Classic cod with carrot and onion marinade

Classic Cod in Carrot and Onion Marinade

Tangy, appetizing, made from everyday ingredients, and absolutely delicious! Cod in a carrot-and-onion marinade is a classic cold fish appetizer that goes back generations. It's quick and easy to put together, but it gets even better after a few hours, once the fish has fully soaked up the marinade.

katushafin

Recipe author

Classic cod with carrot and onion marinade

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Composition / ingredients

Servings:

Cod

370

Onion

200

Carrots

250

Tomato paste (or 90 g crushed tomatoes)

Vegetable oil

Bay leaf

Peppercorns (a mix of black and allspice)

Vinegar (9%)

Sugar

Salt

0.5

Translation table of volumetric measures

Nutrients and energy value of the composition of the recipe

By weight of the composition:

Proteins 38 % 8 g

Fats 29 % 6 g

Carbohydrates 33 % 7 g

107 kcal

GI: 71 / 0 / 29

Cooking method

Cooking time: 30 min

Step 1:

How do you make classic cod in a carrot-and-onion marinade? Gather your ingredients. Cod works in any form — whole or fillet — or you can fillet it yourself. If you go with tomato paste, you'll need to add 50 ml (about 3 tbsp) of water while it simmers. Instead of plain vinegar, you can use apple cider vinegar or lemon juice.
Step 2:

Peel the onion, rinse it, and cut it into quarter-rings.
Step 3:

Wash the carrots well, peel them, and grate on the coarse side of a box grater.
Step 4:

Set a skillet over low heat — a heavy-bottomed one is best. Add the vegetable oil, let it warm up a little, then add the onion. Fry, stirring occasionally, until lightly golden, about 5 minutes.
Step 5:

Add the carrots to the pan and stir. Fry the vegetables together for about 2 minutes.
Step 6:

Cover the pan, reduce the heat to low, and let the onion and carrot braise for 5 minutes.
Step 7:

Now add the crushed tomatoes or tomato paste. If you're using paste, pour in 50 ml (about 3 tbsp) of water along with it. Add the salt, sugar, bay leaves, and peppercorns, then pour in the vinegar.
Step 8:

Stir the vegetables well.
Step 9:

Cover the pan and let the marinade simmer for a couple of minutes.
Step 10:

Meanwhile, cut the fish into serving-sized pieces. If it was frozen, thaw it first by moving it from the freezer to the bottom shelf of the refrigerator. Then rinse the fish under water.
Step 11:

Push the vegetables to one side of the pan and lay the cod pieces in the cleared space.
Step 12:

Spoon the vegetables over the fish you've just added, clearing the other half of the pan, and lay the remaining cod pieces there. Spread the vegetables evenly over all the fish.
Step 13:

Cover the pan and turn the heat to low. Simmer the cod in the marinade for 10 minutes, then turn off the heat and leave the fish to cool under the lid. As it cools, it soaks up all the flavors of the marinade and turns out wonderfully tasty!
Step 14:

Serve the cod cold as an appetizer, garnished with your favorite fresh herbs. It's also good warm, with any side dish. Enjoy!

You can dredge the cod in flour and pan-fry it first, but the no-fry version is lighter, and that's how I made it. You can also bake the cod in the oven: put the raw fish in a suitable dish, cover it with the marinade, and bake for 20 minutes.
How do you fillet a whole fish? Remove the tail, head, and fins. Cut along the backbone down to the spine. Turn the fish on its side and, with a sharp knife, slice the flesh away from the backbone. Flip it and cut the fillet off the other side. Clean out the inside, removing the dark membrane, which is bitter and would spoil the flavor. Rinse and be sure to dry it well.
Since everyone's tolerance for salt, sweetness, bitterness, heat, and acidity is different, always add spices and seasonings to your own taste. If you're using a seasoning for the first time, remember that some are especially easy to overdo (chili pepper, for one).
Fry with an oil that has a high smoke point. Every oil is only healthy up to a certain temperature — its smoke point — beyond which it starts to burn and forms harmful compounds. Unrefined oils, with a few exceptions, have low smoke points; they're full of unfiltered particles that scorch quickly. Refined oils hold up much better to heat. Whether you're baking, pan-frying, or grilling, reach for a high-smoke-point oil. Good choices include refined sunflower, olive, and grapeseed oil.