Baked Cod with Lentils & Salsa Verde

Ingredients

• 1 x 400g tin Puy or green lentils, drained and rinsed
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 100 ml chicken or vegetable stock
• 1 celery stick, finely diced
• salt and black pepper
• 1 shallot, finely diced
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 2 thick cod fillets, about 180g each
• 1 garlic clove
• 2 tbsp red wine vinegar
• 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 30g flat-leaf parsley
• 1 tbsp capers, rinsed
• 8 anchovy fillets
• 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
• Warm tortillas, to serve
• Quick pickled red onion, to serve
• Lime wedges, to serve
• Fresh coriander, to serve

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 200°C fan. Make the salsa verde first: finely chop the parsley, anchovies, capers and garlic together on a board until you have a coarse green rubble. Tip into a bowl with the Dijon, red wine vinegar and extra virgin olive oil. Season with black pepper and set aside — it will only get better as it sits.
2. Heat the olive oil in an ovenproof frying pan over medium heat. Add the shallot, celery and carrot with a pinch of salt. Cook for 5–6 minutes, stirring now and then, until everything is soft and glossy and the carrot has lost its bite. Add the garlic and cook for another minute until fragrant.
3. Tip in the drained lentils and pour over the stock. Stir through the shredded spinach and let it wilt down into the lentils for 2–3 minutes, until the liquid has reduced to a loose, savoury braise. Taste and season well.
4. Pat the cod fillets dry with kitchen paper and season generously with salt and pepper. Nestle them on top of the lentils, skin-side up if they have skin. Transfer the pan to the oven.
5. Bake for 12–15 minutes until the cod is opaque all the way through and flakes easily when pressed with the tip of a knife.
6. Spoon a generous slick of salsa verde over each fillet and bring the pan straight to the table. Finish with a squeeze of lime, a scatter of coriander and a pinch of chilli flakes.