Pan-Fried Cod with Spicy Peppers, Chorizo and Black Olives

Every once in awhile, a dish comes along that really makes you take a step back and look at things in a new light. Really, you know, take stock of your life. You begin to ask questions. Do I even like my job? Am I a good person? Do I clean my bathroom frequently enough? Are my recipes complex enough? And the like...

This is such a dish. The components are magic together. I must confess, the recipe was originally intended for red mullet and it was to serve four people as a starter. I went with cod here because it was freshly caught and caught locally, but any meaty white fish would have worked here (halibut, pollack, sea bass, etc.). Plus, I needed something a little more substantial than red mullet to serve this as a main course.

Back to the magic. Food that hits all of the parts of your tongue in each bite are wonderful to eat because it really gets your mouth 'thinking', so to speak. This is a recipe from Jason Atherton's Maze cookbook. Some of you may have seen photos from my birthday last year where we ate at Maze in September (the photo album is on my Facebook). This dish is so simple, yet hits all of the major tastes: roasty sweetness of the peppers, spicyness of the chorizo, saltiness of the black olives, a little more sweetness of the aubergine puree. Crunchy aubergine crisp. Nice, flaky, soft cod with crispy skin. This was a delight. Hope you try it.

COD
4 x 200 g cod fillets
2 tablespoons olive oil
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

SPICY PEPPERS
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 red onion, peeled and finely diced
100 g fresh chorizo sausage, finely diced
1 teaspoon ras el hanout (Moroccan spice mix)
435 g jar of sweet roasted peppers
2 tablespoons spicy tomato ketchup
10 black olives, halved and pitted
few coriander sprigs, leaves only, chopped

FOR THE CANDIED AUBERGINES
500 g aubergines (about 1 large or 2 medium ones)
80 g caster sugar
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 garlic clove, peeled and finely chopped
handful of thyme, leaves only
60 ml hazelnut oil
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

FOR THE AUBERGINE CRISPS
1 baby aubergine
groundnut oil, for deep-frying
fine sea salt, to sprinkle

TO SERVE
4 tablespoons candied aubergine
few aubergine crisps
cilantro shoots (or leaves)

FOR THE CANDIED AUBERGINES
Preheat the oven to 200°C/Gas 6 and line a baking tray with a large piece of foil. Cut off the tops and tails of the aubergines, then peel off the skins with a vegetable peeler. Chop the flesh to a fine dice, place in a large bowl and toss with the sugar, lemon juice, chopped garlic and thyme. Spread out on the prepared tray and cover with another piece of foil. Bake for about 45-55 minutes, stirring the aubergines once or twice, until they are very soft and slightly caramelised.

While still hot, transfer the aubergines to a blender or food processor and whiz to a rough paste. With the motor still running, slowly pour in the hazelnut oil and keep blending until the puree is smooth. Transfer the puree to a pan and cook over a high heat to dry it out a little. Season well with salt and pepper to taste.

FOR THE AUBERGINE CRISPS
Trim the aubergine and slice thinly lengthways, using a mandolin. Heat the groundnut oil in a deep-fat fryer or other suitable deep, heavy pan to 190°C. In batches, deep-fry the aubergine slices in the hot oil until they are golden and crisp. Remove and drain well on a tray lined with kitchen paper. Sprinkle with salt while still warm.

FOR THE DISH
Trim the cod fillets to neaten and check them for pin bones, removing any you find with tweezers. Wrap and chill until ready to cook.

For the spicy peppers, heat the olive oil in a frying pan and add the red onion, chorizo and ras el hanout. Fry for 3-4 minutes, stirring frequently. Meanwhile, drain the roasted red peppers, discard any seeds and cut into thin slices. Add them to the pan and cook for another 3 minutes, then stir in the spicy tomato ketchup and olives. Season with salt and pepper to taste. (The peppers can be prepared ahead to this stage and reheated to serve.) When ready to serve, heat the olive oil in a frying pan until hot. Season the red mullet fillets and fry, skin side down, for 2 minutes until the skin is golden and crisp. Turn over and fry the other side for 30 seconds to 1 minute until the fish is just cooked through. Remove from the heat. Reheat the spicy peppers if necessary and stir through the chopped coriander.

To serve, place a spoonful of candied aubergine in the centre of each warm serving plate or bowl. Top with the red mullet fillets and garnish with the aubergine crisps and coriander. Serve accompanied by the spicy peppers.