Ginger and Cardamom Fish

I'm not much of a fan of plainly cooked food. I like to experiment with herbs and spices, and combinations of ingredients, so that in a perfectly balanced way, and without great effort, a simple dish may be lifted to another dimension. Therefore, when I came across this recipe in Casa Moro: The Second Cookbook, I was intrigued to see these two favourite spices of mine being paired together, a combination not often seen I feel, and then with fish.

Hake, sea bass or cod are all suitable for this dish. There wasn't any sea bass to be had and the hake somehow didn't appeal, so I plumped for cod and bought two lovely steaks weighing about 290g each. The recipe says steaks of around 225-250g, so I had to take care that they were properly cooked through. The fish does need to be marinaded for several hours but this is the only bit of planning involved.

The cod was delicious, cooked to perfection, and with an incredibly delicate taste. I don't know exactly what I was expecting but I think something more robust considering the ingredients in the marinade. I was not disappointed though, quite the opposite in fact. This reminded me a little of the delicate seasoning of Indonesian food although the Casa Moro cookbook is dedicated to Spain and the Muslim Mediterranean. And now I am wondering where the authors got their inspiration for this lovely recipe. Definitely something I shall be making again, even Mr. P, who can sometimes be very picky about fish, was impressed.

I had been thinking to make spinach with walnuts to go with this but at the end of the day the horrible weather we are having right now got to me and I went for the easy option of some basmati rice cooked up with spring onions, garlic and french beans.

Cook's note: I fried the steaks in a heavy cast iron pan but I think next time I would use a non-stick one as they had a tendancy to catch. Baking the fish is also a possibility I feel.

For the marinade:

• 1 clove of garlic
• 2.5cm piece fresh root ginger, peeled and finely chopped
• finely grated zest of 1/2 lime
• juice of 1 lime
  
• 1/2 tsp crushed cardamom seeds
• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Crush the garlic with a pinch of salt in a mortar until a paste has formed. Add the ginger and lime zest and crush again. Now stir in the lime juice and crushed cardamom seeds. I used ground cardamom because I had some. Place the fish in a bowl, rub the marinade all over the fish, then drizzle on the olive oil and mix in. Leave the fish to marinate for 4-8 hours.

When you are ready to cook the fish, lift the steaks out of the marinade and dry them on kitchen paper. Spread a couple of tablespoons of plain flour on a plate, season it well, and coat each piece of fish, shaking off any excess. Place a large frying pan over a medium to high heat and add three or four tablespoons of olive oil, not extra virgin. When the oil is hot, carefully place the fish in the pan and fry for 4-5 minutes on each side or until cooked through. Serve immediately.