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Black Cod with Mushrooms and Sansho Pepper

4.8

(28)

Image may contain Plant Food Meal Dish and Bowl
Black Cod with Mushrooms and Sansho PepperDitte Isager

Visually, this dish speaks softly, but it combines quite a number of sensations: a buttery fish, sautéed for a crisp skin, and a broth of such depth you'll never believe it was simmered for just five minutes. The mixture of enoki and shimeji mushrooms looks gorgeous and lends a meatiness, punctuated by an elusive woodsy smokiness, to the sansho-flecked broth.

Cooks' note:

Broth can be made 1 day ahead and chilled, covered (once cool). Gently reheat before using.

Recipe information

  • Total Time

    30 min

  • Yield

    Makes 6 servings

Ingredients

For Broth:

1 cup water
6 tablespoons reduced-sodium soy sauce
2 tablespoons mirin (Japanese sweet rice wine)
1/8 teaspoon ground sansho pepper (sometimes labeled "sansyo"), plus additional for sprinkling, or 1 teaspoon whole Sichuan peppercorns
1 shallot, sliced
3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced, divided
2 teaspoons vegetable oil
7 ounces fresh enoki mushrooms, cut into 3-inch lengths and spongy base discarded
5 ounces fresh shimeji mushrooms (sometimes called beech mushrooms), spongy base discarded

For Fish:

6 (6-ounce) pieces black cod fillet with skin
1 teaspoon vegetable oil

Garnish:

thinly sliced scallion greens

Preparation

  1. Make broth:

    Step 1

    Bring water, soy sauce, mirin, sansho pepper, shallot, and one third of garlic to a boil in a 1- to 2-quart heavy saucepan, then simmer 5 minutes. Let broth stand off heat 10 minutes.

    Step 2

    Cook remaining garlic in oil in a 10-inch heavy skillet over medium heat, stirring, until just golden. Add all mushrooms and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 3 minutes.

    Step 3

    Strain broth through a fine-mesh sieve into mushroom mixture, discarding solids, and simmer 1 minute.

  2. Sauté fish:

    Step 4

    Pat fish dry and sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Heat oil in a 12-inch heavy nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until hot, then sauté fish, skin side down, turning once, until golden brown, just starting to flake, and just cooked through, about 10 minutes.

    Step 5

    Transfer fish to shallow bowls. Reheat broth and divide among bowls, then sprinkle very lightly with more sansho pepper (if using).

Reprinted with permission from What's for Dinner? Delicious Recipes for a Busy Life by Curtis Stone. Photographs by Quentin Bacon. Copyright © 2013 by Curtis Stone. Published by Ballantine Books, an imprint of the Random House Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc., New York. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher CURTIS STONE is the author of five cookbooks and the host of Top Chef Masters on Bravo. He is also the creator of Kitchen Solutions, a sleek line of cookware sold in retailers worldwide, and writes a monthly column for Men's Fitness. Born in Melbourne, Australia, Stone honed his skills in London at Café Royal, under legendary three-star Michelin chef Marco Pierre White, and at Mirabelle and the revered Quo Vadis. He lives in Los Angeles with his wife and son.

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