Spicy Cod With Buttered Brown Rice

The late Julia Child and I had something in common.  Our favourite ingredient is butter. She would say, "If you're afraid of butter, use cream.”  Uh, isn't butter a derivative of cream? Cream that's been churned?  Loved her sense of humour. Clearly for Mrs Child, there is no substitute for butter and I will have to concur.  If there is one dairy product that exists out there that does smell and taste like butter when cooked or spread on a toasted slice of bread, I would be very happy to hear about it.  As I had mentioned in an older post, butter is frowned upon in North America for many reasons.   North American consumers are known to overindulge in food with food businesses like restaurants aiming more for quantity than quality.  It is true that butter is high in cholesterol and fat, but like anything else we eat,...consume. it. in. moderation.   The French have used and continue to use butter on a daily basis in their cooking and baking.  Julia Child could not live without butter for a day and lived until the tender age of 92! Over this side of the pond, we forget to savour while we eat.  So, eating butter in moderation while enjoying our dinner slowly is, I believe, the only way to really appreciate it without any guilt.

Butter goes wonderfully with fish and rice.  While testing low sodium recipes I liked adding flavour and fragrance to the dishes.  Spices, herbs and a nut of butter do just the trick.  This cod recipe served with a buttery brown rice is simply to die for.  The fish is nice and flaky, melts in your mouth and the rice is incredibly tasty.  Once again, this recipe is so easy and quick that you'll love serving it for dinner right after work.

Preparation time : 10 minutes, Cooking time : 15 minutes

Recipe "au pif":
Ingredients

Cod filets

4 large fresh Cod filets

3 cloves garlic, finely minced

2 tsp fresh oregano, finely minced

1/2 tsp ground paprika

1/2 tsp ground turmeric

2 tsp grated lemon peel

1 tbsp olive oil

1/2 tsp butter (optional)

salt and black ground pepper to taste

Buttered Brown Rice

2 cups fast-cooking brown rice

5 cups chicken stock

1/2 tsp ground turmeric

1 tbsp fresh chives, finely minced

1/2 tbsp butter

Instructions

Cod filets:

Pat dry filets with a paper towel

Generously season the filets with the herbs and spices, garlic, oregano, paprika, turmeric, pepper and salt

Rub filets with your hands to coat them evenly with the seasoning, set aside

Heat oil and butter in a large non-stick pan on medium heat until the butter is melted

Gently lay the filets in the pan and let them brown on each side for about 2 minutes max (fish cooks fast) by flipping them over with a spatula.

Turn off heat, cover and put aside

Buttered Brown Rice:

Heat oil and buter in a large non-stick pan on medium high heat until the butter is melted

Stir in the ground turmeric and the fresh chives for about 2 minutes

Stir in the rice and mix for another 2 minutes

Either transfer the seasoned rice in a rice cooker or in a large deep pan and pour in the chicken stock and cover

If using the rice cooker, cook rice until the cooker turns off automatically

If using a large deep sauce pan, momentarily check when rice has completely absorbed the liquid.  Turn off heat and stir

Sprinkle grated lemon peel over the cod filets, drizzle a little bit of oliver oil and serve with the buttered brown rice and a side dish of fresh vegetables of your choice

Serves 4 people

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