Baked Cod with Tomatoes, Olives and Capers

By Sprig Originals ✓ · cooked up in Sprig

A coastal Greek classic: thick cod fillets nestled into a slow-simmered sauce of sweet onions, garlic, tomatoes, briny olives and capers, then baked until the fish flakes at the touch of a fork. Everything is built on good olive oil and finished with lemon and a shower of fresh herbs, with olive-oil-braised green beans alongside to soak up the pan juices.

Ingredients

• 4 skinless cod fillets, about 6 oz each and 1 inch thick
• 1 tsp fine sea salt
• 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

• 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 large yellow onion, thinly sliced
• 1 small fennel bulb, cored and thinly sliced
• 5 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
• 1 can (28 oz) whole peeled tomatoes, crushed by hand, with juices
• 2 tsp dried oregano
• 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
• 1/2 cup pitted Kalamata olives, halved
• 2 tbsp capers, drained and rinsed
• 1/2 tsp fine sea salt
• 1 tsp honey
• 1 lemon, half juiced and half cut into thin slices
• 1/3 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 2 tbsp chopped fresh dill

• 1 lb green beans, trimmed
• 3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, smashed
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 tsp fine sea salt
• 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice

Instructions

1. Pat the cod dry, season all over with the 1 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp black pepper, and refrigerate uncovered while you make the sauce. Heat the oven to 400°F.
2. In a 12-inch oven-safe skillet or braiser, warm the 1/3 cup olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and fennel with a pinch of salt and cook, stirring often, for 10 to 12 minutes, until very soft and just starting to color at the edges.
3. Add the sliced garlic, oregano and red pepper flakes and cook 1 minute more, until fragrant but not browned.
4. Stir in the hand-crushed tomatoes and their juices, the olives, capers, 1/2 tsp salt and the honey. Simmer briskly, uncovered, for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the sauce has thickened enough that a spoon dragged through the pan leaves a trail. Stir in the juice from half the lemon and half of the parsley.
5. Nestle the cod fillets into the sauce, spooning a little sauce over each one but leaving the tops mostly exposed. Lay 1 or 2 lemon slices on each fillet and drizzle with the 1 tbsp olive oil.
6. Bake, uncovered, for 16 to 20 minutes, until the fish is opaque and flakes easily and an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part reads 130 to 135°F. Let it rest 5 minutes off the heat.
7. While the fish bakes, make the beans: combine the green beans, 3 tbsp olive oil, smashed garlic, water and 1/2 tsp salt in a lidded saucepan. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, cover, and cook 10 to 12 minutes, until the beans are fully tender and silky, not crisp. Uncover, raise the heat, and cook 2 to 3 minutes to boil off most of the liquid, then stir in the 1 tbsp lemon juice.
8. Scatter the remaining parsley and all the dill over the fish. Serve each fillet with a generous ladle of sauce and a pile of green beans, drizzling any pan juices over the top.

Chef's tips

Nutrition (per serving, estimated)

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