Cod puttanesca
28 min · 31 g protein · 246 cals / serving
Thick white cod fillets poached right in a punchy Neapolitan sauce of garlic, chili, anchovy, tomatoes, salty kalamata olives and capers, with fresh cherry tomatoes that split and sweeten it. The anchovy melts away into pure savoury depth, the fish flakes into big pearly pieces, and it is all done in one pan in under half an hour. Have something ready to mop up the sauce.
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
- 2 tsp anchovy paste, or 3–4 anchovy fillets, chopped
- 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
- 1 3/4 cups (one 14-oz can) canned crushed tomatoes
- 1 2/3 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
- 1/3 cup kalamata olives, pitted and halved
- 2 tbsp capers, drained
- 1/2 tsp dried oregano
- 4 fillets (1 1/2 lb total) cod, patted dry
- 1/3 tsp salt, for the fish
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
To serve
- 1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
- a few leaves fresh basil, torn
Steps
- Warm the oil in a large, deep skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic, anchovy and pepper flakes and cook 1–2 minutes, stirring and mashing the anchovy, until the garlic is pale gold and the anchovy has dissolved.
- Add the crushed tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, olives, capers and oregano. Simmer briskly 8–10 minutes, stirring now and then, until the cherry tomatoes have softened and the sauce is thick. Taste before adding any salt; olives, capers and anchovy bring plenty.
- Season the cod with the salt and pepper and nestle the fillets into the sauce, spooning some over the top. Cover and simmer gently 7–9 minutes, until the fish is opaque and flakes easily (145°F).
- Scatter over the parsley and basil and serve straight from the pan, lifting each fillet out with plenty of sauce.
Good to know
What do I serve with it?
Crusty bread for the sauce is the classic. For something lighter, spoon it over sautéed spinach, zucchini noodles or a little white beans, which soak up the sauce beautifully.
I don't like anchovies.
Try it anyway: the anchovy melts completely and tastes of nothing fishy, only deep and savoury. If you really want to skip it, add an extra tablespoon of capers and a splash of olive brine; it's about the same score.
Other fish?
Any firm white fish (haddock, pollock, halibut) works the same way. Thinner fillets need only 4–5 minutes, and shrimp take 3–4.
Alternative
Per
- Calories
- 80
- Protein
- (51%)
- 10 g
- Fat
- (31%)
- 3 g
- Carbohydrates
- (18%)
- 4 g
- of which sugar
- 2 g
- Fiber
- 1 g
- Sodium
- 290 mg
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Computed from the ingredients with our published formula, not yet kitchen-tested. General guidance, not medical advice. Talk to your prescriber. How
As written, 982 kcal goes into the pot and 1453 g of ingredients comes out as about 1230 g of food: 80 kcal per 100 g. Cooking moves water and energy density is the score's biggest lever, so the dish is scored as cooked, not as an average of its parts. Every ingredient links to its food page, with the same data and score. The label's percentages are each macronutrient's share of the calories. The full formula.