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Alaska black cod with verjus, basil and courgette

Name: Alaska black cod with verjus, basil and courgette
Prep time: 40 min
Total time: 50 min
Yield: Serves 3
Ingredients: 1 whole Alaska black cod or 3 fillets6 courgettes, 5 whole, 1 in ribbons2 bunches of basil100g butter50ml olive oilCourgette flowers, a handfulVerjus

Michelin-starred chef Andy Beynon's recipe for cooking Alaska black cod perfectly

by Andy Beynon

Andy Beynon's Alaska black cod recipe

Photography & videography by Mindless Group

Published: Friday 13th December 2024

Fish

Serves 3

Preparation time 40 minutes

Cooking time 10 minutes

A really special, meaty fish, black cod is a favourite around the world for its robust texture and full flavour that really stands up to high acidity. Here, Michelin-starred chef Andy Beynon serves it with verjus, basil and courgette.

It’s incredibly easy to overcook black cod, so Andy recommends salting it first to help lock in all the moisture, before carefully steaming it until it’s opaque. His tip to know when the fish is cooked. It’s ready when the skin easily peels away from the meat.

To accompany the fish, Beynon whips up a quick zucchini and basil puree by grating the zucchini, cooking it down and then blending it up with olive oil, salt and basil leaves. To bring the necessary, balancing acidity, Andy has opted for verjus – a fermented grape vinegar – which is dotted around the fish to help lift everything together. If you can’t get your hands on verjus, Andy recommends a squeeze of lemon juice to finish the dish.

Ingredients

1 whole Alaska black cod or 3 fillets
6 courgettes, 5 whole, 1 in ribbons
2 bunches of basil
100g butter
50ml olive oil
Courgette flowers, a handful
Verjus

Method

To prepare the fish, fillet the black cod, cutting off the loin and the belly, leaving the skin on in the process.
Take the whole loin and cover in rock salt to cure for 12 minutes.
After 12 minutes, wash the salt cure off in ice water and portion the loin into 120 grams (still keeping the skin on).
For the courgette and basil puree, take the courgettes and peel them, grating the pulp on a thick grater and keeping the skins to one side.
In a medium hot pan, cook the pulp with the butter until cooked and all the moisture has evaporated.
In a separate pan, blanch the courgette skins for 2 minutes before adding to the pulp.
Once the skins are removed, blanch the basil leaves for 10 seconds too.
Put the pulp, skins and basil in a blender for 3-4 minutes with the olive oil
To cook the cod, steam it at 80°C for 5 minutes. Once cooked, gently peel the skin off (it should come off easily if cooked properly).
To plate, put a generous spoon of the basil and courgette puree on the bottom of a dish. Remove the stamen from the courgette flowers and place these around the sauce. Then arrange the courgette ribbons around the dish and place the steamed cod on top.
Dot with small amounts of verjus gel around the plate and serve.

For more information visit wildalaskaseafood.co.uk