Crispy Cod with Green Olive Dressing & Greens

Ingredients

• 4 cod fillets
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 90g green olives, roughly chopped
• 15g flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
• 1 tbsp capers, chopped
• 1 lemon, zested and juiced
• 1 garlic clove, grated
• 250g tenderstem broccoli, trimmed
• 200g green beans, trimmed
• 80g spinach
• salt and black pepper to taste
• Buttered new potatoes, to serve

Method

1. Make the dressing first so the flavours have time to mingle. Stir together the chopped olives, parsley, capers, lemon zest, half the lemon juice, the grated garlic and 2 tablespoons of the olive oil. The raw garlic is sharp now but will mellow as it sits in the oil — taste it and season with a pinch of salt and a grind of pepper. It should taste salty, sharp and spoonable; loosen with a splash more oil if it looks dry.
2. Bring a pan of well-salted water to the boil — it should taste like the sea. Drop in the tenderstem broccoli and green beans and cook for 3 to 4 minutes until just tender with a little bite, the stems still bright green. Drain well, then tip straight onto the spinach in a warm bowl so the residual heat wilts the leaves to a glossy tangle.
3. Pat the cod fillets thoroughly dry with kitchen paper and season generously all over with salt and black pepper — water on the surface means steam, and steam means no crisp golden crust. Heat the remaining tablespoon of olive oil in a stainless or cast-iron pan over a medium-high heat until it shimmers and slides easily across the base.
4. Lay the cod in skin-side (or presentation-side) down, working in two batches if your pan is small — crowd the pan and the fish steams instead of crisping. Press lightly with a fish slice for the first 10 seconds to stop it curling, then leave it completely undisturbed for 3 to 4 minutes until the underside is deeply golden and releases cleanly when you nudge it.
5. Turn the fish carefully and cook for another 2 to 3 minutes until the flesh flakes easily under gentle pressure but still looks moist and pearly in the middle. Lift onto a warm plate to rest while you finish the greens — the carryover heat will set it perfectly.
6. Dress the warm greens with a squeeze of lemon from the remaining juice, a good pinch of salt and a grind of black pepper. Taste them now, season again if they need it — limp greens are usually under-salted, not overcooked.
7. The garlic in the dressing will have softened by now into something fragrant rather than raw — if it still bites, stir in another splash of olive oil to round it off. Don't be tempted to cook the dressing; the freshness is the point.
8. Pile the greens onto warm plates, sit the crispy cod on top skin-side up, and spoon the green olive dressing generously over the fish so it pools into the leaves below. Finish each plate with a lemon wedge and a scatter of torn parsley leaves.