One-Pot Miso Butter Cod & Rice

• 4cod fillets
• 300 gbasmati rice
• 100 gfrozen peas
• black pepper, to taste
• 1leek, halved and finely sliced
• 2garlic cloves, crushed
• 750 mlvegetable or fish stock
• 1 tbspwhite miso paste
• 25 gbutter
• 1 tbspolive oil
• 1lemon, cut into wedges
• 2 tbspchives or parsley, chopped
• Fine salt
• 160 gpickled cucumber (optional)

Method

1. 1Mash the butter and miso together in a small bowl until smooth and uniformly beige. Set aside; it'll melt into the stock later and carry seasoning right through the rice.
2. 2Heat the olive oil in a large lidded sauté pan over a medium heat. Add the leek with a small pinch of salt and cook for about 4 minutes, stirring now and then, until softened and silky but not coloured. The salt pulls moisture out and stops it catching.
3. 3Stir in the garlic for 30 seconds, just until aromatic. Keep the garlic moving and stop as soon as it smells sweet.
4. 4Tip in the rice and stir for a full minute to coat every grain in the oil. You're toasting the starch lightly so the grains stay separate later, not gluey.
5. 5Pour in the stock and bring to a gentle simmer. Pat the cod fillets dry, season generously with salt and pepper, and lay them on top of the rice. Dot the miso butter over the fish and around the pan; as it melts it becomes the pan sauce, swirling through the stock and glossing the rice from above.
6. 6Cover, drop the heat to low and cook undisturbed for 15 minutes. No peeking; every lift of the lid loses steam the rice needs.
7. 7Scatter the peas over the top, replace the lid and cook for a further 3 to 5 minutes, until the rice is tender, the peas are bright green, and the cod flakes easily under a fork.
8. 8Take the pan off the heat and leave it to stand, lid on, for 5 minutes; this finishes the rice and lets the miso butter settle into the grains. Taste a spoonful of rice now: most of the salt comes from the miso and stock, but adjust with a final pinch if it needs lifting.
9. 9Scatter over the chopped herbs and a little black pepper. Spoon the cod and rice onto plates and squeeze a lemon wedge over each portion. Add the pickled cucumber alongside if using.

Per serving

kcal

517

protein

35.1g

fibre

4.6g

carbs

68.7g

fat

11g