a new favourite

OK. This is the second post about food in two weeks. I know.

But this discovery we made last night on epicurious.com was so outrageously good -- and unique! -- that I had to share it with everyone adventurous enough to try it.

The recipe was actually a way to use up a few odd ingredients we had in the fridge. Score! SO good we felt like we were eating at a high-end Thai restaurant (not that I would know actually what that is like....) The quantity in the picture looks pretty minimal for a reason -- I realized more than halfway through the dish that I wanted to share it with all of my blogging friends, so I snapped the shot while it still looked like something worth sharing. Another two minutes and you would have had an empty bowl.

Don't avoid trying it if you don't have all the ingredients... just substitute! We even used sole instead of cod and celery instead of bok choy.

Let me know if you try it!

COD WITH COCONUT, LIME, AND LEMONGRASS CURRY SAUCE
Makes 4 servings.

The Sauce:
1 tablespoon butter
2 shallots, thinly sliced (I used half a white onion)
3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1 lemongrass stalk, thinly sliced (I used some lemon rind and lemon juice)
1-inch knob ginger, thinly sliced
3 kaffir lime leaves (didn't have that -- just went with the lime juice!)
1 tablespoon Madras curry
3 cups chicken stock
3/4 cup fresh or canned coconut milk
4 cilantro sprigs
Fine sea salt to taste
Freshly ground white pepper to taste
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice

The Cod:
2 tablespoons canola oil
4 7-ounce cod fillets, 1 1/2-inches thick (we used sole!)
Fine sea salt to taste
Freshly ground white pepper to taste

The Garnish:
1/2 pound butter
Fine sea salt
9 heads baby bok choy, divided in half or quartered if large
(I substituted stalks of celery, cut really thick... asian style)
1/4 cup kosher salt

Special equipment:
2 10-inch nonstick ovenproof skillets

Preheat the oven to 400°F.

To make the broth, melt the butter in a small sauté pan or wok over medium heat. Add the shallots, garlic, lemongrass, ginger, kaffir lime leaves and curry and sweat until tender and with no color, about 5 to 6 minutes. Add the chicken stock and bring to a boil. Lower the heat simmer for 15 minutes. Add the coconut milk and cilantro, and simmer for 5 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Strain through a fine chinois and set aside.

Divide the 2 tablespoons of canola oil between the skillets. Place over high heat until oil is just smoking. Season the cod on both sides with salt and pepper. Put 2 pieces of cod in each skillet and sauté until golden brown and crusted on the bottom, about 2 1/2 minutes. Turn and sear on the other side for 30 seconds. Put the pans in the oven and roast until a metal skewer can be easily inserted into the fish and, when left in the fish for 5 seconds, feels hot when touched to your lip, about 6 to 7 minutes. (Yeah, I didn't do the lip thing... just baked it until everything else was done!)

In a large pot, heat 4 quarts of water, the butter, and the kosher salt. Bring to a boil over high heat. Add the bok choy and cook until crisp tender, about 4 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside on a sheet pan in the refrigerator to cool quickly so they retain their bright green color.

To serve, reheat the sauce and finish with the lime juice. In each of 4 bowls, place a piece of cod. Place 3 to 4 pieces of bok choy around the cod. (Or put the boy choy under AND around the fish so the fish can lay rather flat in the bowl -- yeah!) Pour the sauce over the cod and serve immediately.

Enjoy!