Flaky Cod with Tapenade

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Summer conjures up many wonderful feelings and associations with foods, from the spicy warmth of Jamaican jerk chicken (with delicious rice and peas) or a simple cone of vanilla ice cream to enjoy along a beachside walk. But arguably the best thing about summer when it comes to food is the opportunity to gather around the table and eat food that was freshly caught that day. With all the talk of food being fresh, organic or free-range, you cannot get any better than fresh-caught fish, and there's plenty of it here at the Jersey shore.

Aside from the fact that it is absolutely amazing for you (full of omega 3s, healthy fats, and plenty of protein), fish goes with pretty much anything and everything. You can have a fish with a summer salad, fish with Mediterranean vegetables covered in olive oil, and the old British classic that is eaten all year round, fish and chips.

And as summer gets in full swing, the options for fish are plenty. You can go to your local seafood market and get pretty much any type of fish you desire. Some of us are more adventurous when it comes to our fish, and some are really are not. One fish you can't go wrong with is cod. It's delicious when caught fresh and doesn’t taste too “fishy,”. It's a great great to use when introducing fish to children since it's flaky, tasty, and light.

Here’s an easy recipe for cod and a tapenade that doesn’t take long at all to whip up at home.

Ingredients

• 1 cod fillet that has been skinned and boned (freshly caught is always preferred as it’s much tastier)
• 1 tablespoon of olive oil (it will bring out the flavors, and if you can get
  extra virgin olive oil, then great, but don’t worry if not)
• ¼ teaspoon of sea salt (if you want to spring for some better quality salt, get Himalayan
  pink salt)
• ¼ teaspoon of black pepper
• 1 medium lemon
  3 cups of arugula (known as different things in different parts of the world, you might know it as rocket lettuce)
• ½ a cup of olives (green or black, doesn’t matter – green olives tend to be a bit sweeter)
• 2 tablespoons of capers
• 1 medium sized garlic clove (chopped very roughly)

Preparation

1. Preheat the oven to 400 F.

2. Place the fish in an oven-proof dish. Season it well with the salt, pepper, as well as the juice of the lemon.

3. Put the fish in the oven for around 8 to 10 minutes.

4. Blend the arugula, garlic, olives, and capers in a food processor
until the texture is smooth. Spread the tapenade onto the cod when the fish is
nearly cooked to let it heat up, and enjoy!

As a side dish, anything will work with this. I like to prepare a simple side salad with a light vinaigrette dressing. If you want something more substantial, sweet potato fries drizzled with oil and sprinkled with cayenne pepper is tasty!