Lemon-Herb Cod Fillets With Crispy Garlic Potatoes
Serves 4.
Note: Haddock or halibut could be substituted for the cod. This very simple recipe is quite the looker. The potatoes get wonderfully browned and crisp around the edges and the fish always turns out perfectly. Cooking them together allows their flavors to mingle and makes cleanup easy. From "Cooking at Home With Bridget & Julia," by Bridget Lancaster and Julia Collin Davison and the editors at America's Test Kitchen.
• 1 1/2 lb. russet potatoes, unpeeled, sliced into 1/4-in.-thick rounds
• 2 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted, plus 3 tbsp. cut into 1/4-in. pieces
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 4 sprigs fresh thyme, plus 1 tsp. minced
• Salt and pepper
• 4 (6- to 8-oz.) skinless cod fillets, 1 to 1 1/2 in. thick (see Note)
• 1 lemon, sliced thin
Directions
Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 425 degrees. Toss potatoes, melted butter, garlic, minced thyme, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper together in bowl.
Place potatoes into four 6- by 4-inch rectangular piles on parchment paper-lined rimmed baking sheet in an overlapping (like shingles) manner. Roast potatoes until spotty brown and just tender, 30 to 35 minutes, rotating sheet halfway through roasting.
Pat cod dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper. Lay 1 cod fillet skinned side down on top of each potato pile and top evenly with butter pieces, thyme sprigs and lemon slices. Bake until cod flakes apart when gently prodded with paring knife and registers 140 degrees, about 15 minutes.
To serve, slide spatula beneath potatoes and cod and gently transfer to individual plates.
