Seared Cod in Spring Pea Broth with Minted Pea Pesto

This is a light fish dish by Carla Hall, with pea soup and mint. I was skeptical whether this combination would work, but actually turned out quite delicious. To make this ahead of time, I made a pea soup earlier in the morning and just reheated it at night. I added a little sugar to the pea soup to make it sweeter. 

Seared Cod in Spring Pea Broth with Minted Pea Pesto (~from Carla Hall’s book Cooking with Love)

Ingredients

Spring Pea Broth

2 tablespoons unsalted butter (used olive oil)

1 small yellow onion, thinly sliced

2 cups chicken stock or vegetable stock

Kosher salt and freshly ground white pepper

1 ½ cups shelled fresh peas (from 11/2 to 2 pounds of pods) (I used 1 pound of thawed frozen peas)

¼ cup fresh mint leaves, coarsely chopped

2 tablespoons heavy cream

1 tablespoon fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves, coarsely chopped

1 teaspoon freshly grated lemon zest

2 teaspoons lemon olive oil or extra virgin olive oil

Cod

Four 5-oz skinless cod fillets (used Six pieces of flounder)

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 tablespoons canola or other neutral oil

1 tablespoon unsalted butter, cut in quarters (used olive oil)

½ cup minted pea pesto (did not use this)

4 lemon wedges for garnish

Preparation

1.     To make the broth: In a medium saucepan, melt the butter over the medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally until tender and translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the stock and bring to a boil. Season with salt and pepper. Add the peas and reduce the heat to maintain a steady simmer. Cook until the peas are tender, about 8 minutes. Season again with salt and pepper. Set aside ¼ cup peas for garnish.

2.     Working in batches if necessary, transfer the remaining broth and peas to a stand blender and puree until smooth. Reserve 1 teaspoon chopped mint. Add the remaining mint to the blender along with the cream and parsley. Puree again, then stain through a fine mesh sieve (did not do this). Pour the broth back into the saucepan and keep warm over low heat. Toss the reserved peas with the reserved teaspoon mint, lemon zest, and lemon oil (did not use lemon oil). Season with salt and pepper.

3.     To make the cod: Season the fish with salt and pepper. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the canola oil, swirling to coat the bottom of the pan. Carefully put the fillets in the skillet, then add the butter pieces. Cook for 3 minutes, then carefully flip the fillets and cook for 2 minutes longer. Transfer the skillet to the oven (at 350 degrees) and cook until the fish is opaque throughout, about 3 minutes. (since I used flounder, only cooked on skillet for a few minutes without using the oven at the end).

4.     Divide the hot pea broth among your serving bowls. Place the fish in the bowls, then top with the pesto. Garnish with the reserved peas and lemon wedges. (I didn’t use the pesto. I just topped with the green peas reserve, fresh mint and parsley)