Venetian Baked Cod

I had Cooking TV on a few days ago as I was pottering around catching up on some light household chores and caught part of an episode of Jamie Oliver Does Venice.  He showed a particular fish dish as it came out of the oven in a restaurant and I was instantly entranced by the simplicity of the dish.  I love fish and I love Italian food, so this was perfect for me.

My approximation of the dish is as follows :

For two people :

Two nice fillets of fish (I used Cod, but you could use snapper, haddock, sea bass etc)

Sliced baby potatoes, par-boiled (quantity depends on the size of them, and your appetite)

A generous handful of halved cherry tomatoes

1 clove of garlic, finely chopped

1 small bunch of flatleaf parsley also finely chopped

About 1 cup of fish stock – use a Knorr stock pot if you can find them

Extra Virgin Olive Oil to drizzle

Salt and pepper to taste

Juice of 1 lemon to serve

Wash and pat dry the fish fillets and arrange in an ovenproof dish.

Add the sliced potatoes and halved cherry tomatoes around the fish and then scatter the garlic and parsley over everything.  Pour in the stock so that it comes about half-way up the side of the dish.  Drizzle with a little olive oil and season with salt and pepper.

You need to cook the dish until the potatoes and fish are cooked through.  I cooked mine at 180^oC (350^oF/gas mark 4) for 40 minutes.

Spritz with lemon juice to serve.

You could stay within the Venetian theme and serve with a radicchio salad alongside, but I saw fresh samphire and looked no further!