Cod with Lemon, Capers & Butter Beans

Ingredients

• 4 cod fillets
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 lemon, zested and juiced
• 2 x 400g tins butter beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 shallot, finely sliced
• 2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• 2 tbsp capers, drained
• 80g spinach
• 15g flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• black pepper to taste
• Buttered new potatoes, to serve
• Dressed green salad, to serve
• Crusty bread, to serve

Method

1. Season the cod fillets all over with salt, black pepper and half the lemon zest, and set aside while you start the beans.
2. Heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a frying pan over a medium heat and soften the shallot and garlic for 3 to 4 minutes, until translucent and fragrant but not coloured.
3. Tip in the butter beans, capers and a splash of water, then simmer for 3 to 4 minutes until warmed through and glossy, the beans loosening into something almost stew-like.
4. Fold the spinach through the beans and let it wilt for a minute, then stir in most of the parsley and half the lemon juice. Taste — it should be savoury and properly lemony, not flat.
5. Meanwhile, heat the remaining olive oil in a second pan over a medium-high heat and lay the cod down skin-side or presentation-side first. Cook for 3 to 4 minutes until golden, then turn and cook for 2 to 3 minutes more, until the flesh flakes easily under a fork.
6. Lift the cod off the heat and drizzle with the final tablespoon of olive oil and the rest of the lemon juice so it stays moist and bright.
7. Spoon the butter beans generously into shallow bowls and set a piece of cod on top. Scatter over the remaining parsley and a good crack of black pepper, and serve straight away with crusty bread for mopping.