Friends, what if I told you that this easy, pan-seared cod with lemon, olives, and capers comes together in just 15 minutes? That also includes the prep time! Pretty amazing, right? The combination of lemons, olives, and capers is full of bright, assertive flavors – a classic southern Mediterranean dish.
So many of us want to include more healthy seafood in our diets (especially after the December Holidays), but we do not, because we feel intimidated by it. Some think that fish is hard to cook, or, that we need special equipment. Others might simply not be sure how long it takes to cook properly. The good news is that fish is probably the easiest protein to cook, provided that we become familiar and confident with the various methods of cooking fish.
Easy ways to cook fish at home
Fish is such a lean protein that does not need any tenderizing, marinating, or, advanced planning. In most cases, all we have to do is season it and cook it. There are many easy ways to cook fish: from pan-seared, to baked, to steamed, grilled, or broiled.
The only thing we need to pay attention to is not to overcook the fish. There are many ways to ensure this, such as testing the fish with a fork to see that it flakes easily, or, making certain that the flesh is opaque at the end of the cooking time, or, just use an instant digital thermometer. A safe temperature for cooked fish is 145°F.
Tips for Cooking Fish at Home
- Buy fish from a place you trust. If buying a large piece, ask the fishmonger to fillet it, trim it, and remove the pin bones for you
- Frozen fish is perfectly fine to use, as it is usually frozen shortly after being caught
- Fish cooks fast, so have all your ingredients prepped and ready before you start cooking
- Do not let fish too long in an acidic marinade, as the marinade will begin to “cook” the fish
- For shallow-frying fish, you can use olive oil, but you can also use a neutral oil of your choice
- The easiest, and most forgiving, method of cooking a fish is probably steaming it in parchment paper
Ingredients for the pan-seared cod with lemon, olives, and capers
For this recipe, besides the cod, the rest of the ingredients are for a simple, and flavor-packed topping, that is spooned over the fish before serving.
- Olives – I used Greek Kalamata olives and Italian Castelvetrano olives, but any olives will do
- Lemon – use the zest and a few slices
- Capers – which add a nice, lemony tang (you can omit them if you prefer)
- Garlic – just one, large clove
- Celery leaves – from the tender, smallest celery stalks, or, use parsley
- Optional additions: during the summer, a handful of small tomatoes sautéed briefly, add lots of flavor
Once the ingredients for the topping are prepped, all you have to do is pan-sear the cod fillets. A few minutes on each side will do. I also like to sauté slices of lemon in the same skillet — they flavor the fillets very nicely! After that, remove the cod from the heat, top it with the mixture of olives and capers and serve!
How to serve it
For a light meal, serve it with a delicious, well-seasonal salad; the perfect pairing for any fish. If you need something more substantial, a simple parsley rice pilaf or steamed vegetables are all good choices to accompany the fish. Just have everything ready so when the fish is ready so you can sit down to enjoy it while it is still hot!
☙ Marilena’s Kitchen Update ❧
January marks the seven-year anniversary for “Marilena’s Kitchen”. Since I posted my first recipe on January 2015, I have published 375 blog posts, most of them with a Mediterranean focus, generating over 400,000 page views, in just this past year! I am very grateful to all of you for subscribing to my blog and for welcoming my posts every week to your inbox. As I am entering my eighth year writing this blog, I am thankful for all your support, your encouragement, and, all the kind comments and e-mails you have shared with me this past year!
- 2 pieces of cod, ¾”- 1” thick, (about 6 oz. each)
- --- sea salt and freshly ground pepper
- 2-3 TBSP. olive oil (or, neutral oil)
- ½ medium lemon (zested and sliced)
- 1 garlic clove, finely minced
- 6 olives, black and green, chopped
- 1 TBSP. small capers, rinsed and dried
- 2 TBSP. tender celery leaves (or parsley)
- Pat dry the fish fillets very well, then season them generously with salt and pepper and set them aside.
- In a small bowl, combine the garlic, olives, and capers.
- Zest the lemon and cut it into thin slices
- Set a large skillet over medium-high heat. It should be large enough to accommodate the fish and the lemon slices. Add the olive oil and, when it gets hot, carefully lower the two fish fillets into the pan and reduce the heat to medium. Using a fish spatula, gently press the fillets against the skillet ensuring that the whole side of the fish is in contact with the heat (this is important especially when cooking fish with the skin still on – it ensures crispy skin). Let the fish cook for about three minutes and then shake the skillet gently to check if the fish releases from the pan. If it does not, let it cook for another 30 seconds (when the fillets form a crust, they will easily release from the pan). Flip the fish to the uncooked side, then add the lemon slices to the pan around the fillets. Cook the fish for two minutes more (the cooking time depends on the thickness of the fish and how well you want the fish cooked). With a fork, check the flesh of the fish to make sure it flakes easily. Flip the slices of lemon. Add the garlic mixture to the skillet and cook for another 30 seconds.
- Transfer the fish to two plates and spoon the mixture of olives and capers over the fish. Sprinkle the fillets with the reserved lemon zest and celery leaves. Serve with extra lemon on the side.
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Congrats on your 7 successful years with your blog of yummy recipes. We’ll be trying this recipe as we definitely need to add more fish to our at-home diet. Miss seeing you and hope all are well!!!
Susan and John
Thank you so much Susan, I really appreciate all your support with the blog and my cooking classes at Culinaria! I hope to see you and John soon!
What a true GIFT it has been for us, your readers, Marilena, to enjoy your weekly blog posts, and to try your scrumptious recipes over the past seven years! Please keep them coming for at LEAST seven more (and preferably, much LONGER!).
You are so kind, Sara, thank you so much for your kind words! I really appreciate your note and all your supports since the beginning of this blog!!!
7 years! It flew by! And what fun it has been and I learn so much! Thanks for all of your teaching! You’re the best!
Thank you so much Kathy! I love what I do and it makes me so happy to share my recipes with my readers!
Made this tonight with John as “chef.” SOOOO yummy. Loved the olives and capers. Will definitely make this again. Thanks for giving us a great fish recipe to cook at home.
So glad you tried this recipe and liked it so much! So simple to make and so flavorful with the capers and olives! Good job chef John!
Marilena,
This cod recipe is a winner in every way–thank you! It is fast, easy, and best of all, delicious! Even Leo –who ‘tolerates’ cod–scarfed it and declared it delicious. He loved the topping! In fact, I made extra topping, toasted it in a pan with a little olive oil, and tossed it over steamed broccoli and cauliflower florets, and it was so good!
I also wanted to say,” Congratulations!” on another milestone with your blog! I cannot believe it has been 7 years since you began, and yet I have a notebook full of your wonderful recipes to prove it. I confess, though, that I enjoy your beautiful photography almost as much as the food. It is a feast for the eyes.
You have given us all so much–thank you!
– Dianne (a.k.a. Ratatouille)
Thank you so much, Dianne!!! I am so glad to know that you and Leo not only enjoyed this recipe but you found other ways to use the topping 🙂
Many thanks also for your kind words about my blog anniversary and my photography too. I appreciate it so much!
Enjoy all of your recipes. Pass them on to my friends and they, in turn, subscribe. So healthy and usually somewhat easy. That is for me.
Thank you.
Mary C.
Thank you so much, Mary! I am so glad you are enjoying my recipes and that you pass them on to your friends!
Marilena,
I prepared this yet again this week, and it’s still a favorite! One little tweak that worked out well: the oven was already hot at 400, so I decided to bake it instead of pan roasting. I put the oil with a dab of butter into a Pyrex pan, put it in the oven to heat, then added the seasoned cod and turned it once to coat. Put the lemon slices around it and baked it 10 minutes. Took it out and set it aside a few minutes to finish another dish, then topped the cod with the olives, capers, celery, etc., and popped it back into the oven for another 3-4 minutes, just to heat. The thick piece of cod was perfectly cooked and the flavours were, once again, wonderful. You don’t get a crust cooking it this way, but it’s still delicious –and it was so fast!
Thank you again, from your fish-loving fan!
– Dianne
That is just so wonderful! Thank you for letting me know, my friend! I often cook it in the oven as well, especially when the oven is hot already from another dish… You could also place it under the broiler for a couple of minutes to give it a nice color, provided that your baking dish can be that close to the heat source:)