Seafood Made Simple: Try this baked cod with ratatouille to use up summer veg

Cod and ratatouille, prepared by Aisling Moore. Picture: Chani Anderson.

Ratatouille originated in the region of Provence in southeast France. A Mediterranean summer stew of aubergines, tomatoes, courgettes, onions, herbs and garlic, it's a stunning accompaniment to fresh seafood.

This time of year it always seems I have more courgettes than I know what to do with. I’ll shave some raw in salads, blacken halves on the barbecue and ferment a few in a kimchi.

This ratatouille recipe is a brilliant vessel for putting the excess to good use. As the season goes on, you’ll find the water content increase in some vegetables. For best results, choose smaller sized courgettes and aubergines.

The most important step in this recipe is getting the tomato right. If it’s not delicious going in to the oven it won’t be delicious coming out. The tomato base will season the rounds of vegetables as they cook.

Take the time to reduce the passata, stir the sauce regularly, mind it, taste it, adjust and season. You can always taste that little extra effort and care, even in something as simple as a tomato sauce.

I’m serving this courgette and aubergine ratatouille with some lovely fillets of baked cod. Baking fish in the oven is a fabulous hassle-free way to cook fish, especially for those who are fearful of things sticking in the pan.

I’ve skinned the fillets of cod here but you could leave the skin attached, which would make for an easier transition from the tray to the plate when dealing with such a flaky fish.

Round fish such as hake, pollock, ling and haddock can easily be swapped for cod here or you could opt for some fillets of flat fish like turbot, brill, plaice or megrim.

Baked cod with ratatouille

Round fish such as hake, pollock, ling and haddock can easily be swapped for cod here or you could opt for some fillets of flat fish like turbot, brill, plaice or megrim.

Servings

4

Preparation Time

 10 mins

Cooking Time

 1 hours 15 mins

Total Time

 1 hours 25 mins

Course

 Main

Ingredients

• For the cod:

• 4x 120g cod fillets

• 2 tbsp rapeseed oil

• Fine sea salt

• 1 lemon zested

• For the ratatouille:

• 3 tbsp golden rapeseed oil

• 1 onion, finely diced

• 3 cloves of garlic, minced

• 1 tsp smoked paprika

• 1 tsp sweet paprika

• 1 tsp dried oregano

• 1 tbsp red wine vinegar

• 500g passata

• 1 aubergine, sliced in ½ cm rounds

• 2 courgette, sliced in ½cm rounds

• 1 bunch fresh basil, to serve

Method

1. Heat 2 tbsp of rapeseed oil in medium heavy-based saucepan on medium-low heat. Sweat the finely diced onion until softened, approximately 8 – 10 minutes.

2. Add the minced garlic and cook for a further 3 minutes.

3. Add the dried oregano, smoked and sweet paprika. Season with sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper. Cook for one minute.

4. Add the red wine vinegar to the pot to deglaze, scraping the bottom of the pot to free any sediment.

5. Add the passata and simmer for 12- 15 minutes to reduce. Stir regularly.

6. Add the brown sugar and taste to season.

7. Place the tomato sauce in an 8.5 x 11.5-inch oven dish. Spread out to coat the base of the dish evenly.

8. Lay the sliced rounds of aubergine and courgette on top, overlapping and alternating as you do so.

9. Season with black pepper and sea salt and drizzle with remaining rapeseed oil, bake in a preheated oven at 175°C for 30-35 minutes.

10. Remove from the oven and set aside.

11. Turn the oven up to 190°C to cook the cod.

12. Remove the cod from the fridge 10 minutes before you intend on cooking it.

13. Pat dry to remove excess moisture.

14. Grease a large baking tray with golden rapeseed oil and brush each fillet generously with rapeseed oil. Season with fine sea salt and bake in the preheated oven for 10-12 minutes until the fish is cooked through and flakes when gently pressed.

15. Remove from the oven and finish with some lemon zest and fresh basil.

16. Serve immediately with the ratatouille.

Fish tales

• Never store fish in or on plastic, as this encourages the fish to sweat and deteriorate.
• When baking fish in the oven, make sure they are well dispersed on the tray to allow the heat to circulate around the fillets evenly.
• I can’t recommend a reusable silicone baking mat enough. Every household should have one and they are perfect for oven-baking fish stress-free
• The best way to check that the fish is cooked through is by using a thermometer. Always insert into the thickest part of the fish
• This ratatouille can be prepared and cooked a day ahead. Cover to reheat in a preheated oven.
• Leftovers of ratatouille are great blitzed into a soup with a little vegetable stock or whizzed into a pasta sauce.