Friday, July 1, 2016

Roast Cod with Summer Spaghetti



This is another recipe I've been thinking about for a while. Pasta with some sort of tinned tomato/passata based sauce has always been my go to pasta dish - but I am trying to branch out without increasing the propoints too much. This one went through a few different versions in my head before I finally settled and experimented. All the thought paid off and the result was a really tasty, filling but light mid week dinner.



I made this on Tuesday night after getting home later than I had planned (traffic was a nightmare) and it was great that something so delicious came together so easily. The cod basically takes care of itself, wrapped in prosciutto with a little basil and roasted in the oven, and the pasta only has 7 ingredients and comes together really quickly. The main ingredient is anchovies, but really don't let that scare you. While frying the chopped anchovies melt into the rest of the ingredients and really just add a lovely rich, saltiness to the pasty, so really don't be turned off this recipe if you don't like them. Try this just once and you'll see!

Servings: 2
Smartpoints per Serving: 13
Smartpoints on No Count: 4
Ingredients
2 cod fillets
2 slices of prosciutto (or parma ham)
150g spaghetti (brown if on no count)
3 cloves garlic
1 red chilli
1 tin anchovies (I use the tesco ones)
100g cherry tomatoes
1 bunch basil

Preheat the oven to 200C.

Boil the kettle and cook the spaghetti according to pack instructions. When its cooked, drain well and reserve the starchy water.

While the pasta is cooking, finely chop the chilli and garlic. Drain the anchovies but reserve the oil for cooking. Finely chop the anchovies.

Season the cod fillets and wrap in the prosciutto with a little torn basil in each. Spray with oil and roast in the oven for 8-10 minutes.

Heat 1 tbsp of the anchovy oil in a frying pan over a medium heat and gently fry until soft (about 4 minutes). Add in your cherry tomatoes (whole) and continue to fry, adding a couple of tbsp of the spaghetti water.

Cook this until the skin of the tomato is just starting to split. Add the drained spaghetti and a splash more of the water and mix well. Continue to cook, until everything is well combined. You can add more water if needed but you don't want to be left with a watery sauce - the spaghetti should just be coated and all other ingredients mixed through.

Roughly chop the rest of the basil (reserving a couple of small leaves for garnish) and mix through the spaghetti. Add lots of black pepper and taste for seasoning. The anchovies are very salty, so do not add any extra until you are until you are sure it needs it.

Serve the spaghetti topped with the roasted cod and a couple of leaves of basil! You can add a little parmesan on top, but its delicious without it too!

Please give this a try and let me know what you think.

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