Gone Fishin'

Last winter, the Yankee Fishermans Cooperative in Seabrook, NH started a community-supported fisherey initiative in collaboration with the University of New Hampshire Cooperative Extension, N.H. Sea Grant, the N.H. Commercial Fishermans Association, local seafood groups, restaurants, and fish markets. The result is that food lovers in the Seacoast, NH area can now buy local, sustainably caught shrimp, cod, haddock, and lobster -- and support our local fishery -- the way we do our local farms.

Yesterday, when trying to decide what to make for Sunday supper, my sister Robin, brother-in-law Dave, and I found some of the cooperative's local dayboat cod at Philbrick's Fresh Market in Portsmouth. As we had just picked up some leeks and potatoes at our winter CSA, it seemed like the perfect excuse to make one of our favorite fish dishes: a casserole of baked fish, potatoes, fennel, and leeks.

For a while in the early '00s, it seemed that every other newspaper food section and magazine was featuring recipes with cod or halibut baked on a bed of potatoes, often with something wonderful like artichokes or olives thrown in for good measure. Most of them required you to steam the potatoes first. In this receipe, which came from the late, lamented Gourmet's December 2002 issue, you slice the potatoes with a mandoline, so you can cook them in the baking dish from the start. That means they really pick up the flavor of the other ingredients. Because cod is endangered -- and often hard to find -- we usually make the dish with haddock. Now, with cod just off the boat, it seemed like the perfect time to enjoy it with the real thing.

As you'll see, the original recipe didn't include leeks, but I love the earthy flavor they give the dish.  If you like, you could also add a little grated lemon or orange peel -- or maybe even those olives and artichokes. Whatever you do, you'll be enjoying seafood comfort food at its best.

COD, POTATO, AND FENNEL CASSEROLE
Gourmet Magazine
December 2002
Active time: 15 min Start to finish: 1 hr

Ingredients
2 medium fennel bulbs (sometimes called anise; 1 1/2 lb total), stalks cut off and discarded, and fronds reserved for garnish if desired

2-3 leeks, white park only (if using)

1 1/2 lb large boiling potatoes

3 large garlic cloves, minced

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper (We also sprinkle smoked Spanish paprika on the fish before we put it in the oven. It adds a lovely deep red color and rich, smokey taste.)

6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

2 lb skinless cod fillet (1 inch thick), cut into 6 portions (feel free to use haddock or whatever fillets lookfresh in your seafood market -- not sure I'd use salmon, though.)

Garnish: chopped fennel fronds or fresh flat-leaf parsley

Accompaniment: lemon wedges

Special equipment: a Japanese Benriner* or other adjustable-blade slicer; a 3-quart shallow baking dish (2 inches deep)

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 400°F.

2. Cut fennel bulbs crosswise into 1/16-inch-thick slices with slicer. Peel potatoes and cut crosswise into 1/16-inch-thick slices with slicer. If using leeks, thoroughly wash and cut into 1/4" rounds.

3. Transfer the vegetables to a 9 x 13 baking dish and toss with garlic, salt, pepper, and 4 tablespoons oil. Spread vegetables evenly in dish and bake, covered with foil, in middle of oven until just tender, 25 to 30 minutes.

4. Season fish with salt and pepper and arrange on top of vegetables. Drizzle with remaining 2 tablespoons oil and bake, uncovered, until fish is just cooked through, 12 to 15 minutes.

* Available at Asian markets, many cookware shops, and Uwajimaya (800-889-1928).