Clean Eating Charmoula Cod
Cooking fish is just not my thing. I do pretty well with shrimp, but give me actual fish, and I can produce a fabulous piece of perfectly good rubber for you in under 2.2 seconds. It never fails.
But I’m not one to give up easily. In fact, I’ve almost gotten used to eating rubbery fish. But I do soooo want to get it right, so I keep trying.
This particular recipe came about when I read a blurb about Ramadan in the cookbook, The Healthy Hedonist Holidays. In it, the author goes into some detail about the holiday and talks about this Moroccan spice mixture in a way that got me thinking I needed to try it. She said that it’s traditionally used to season fish, and that also got me to thinking about the cod I had in the freezer.
So using her description of the sauce, I came up with this version, smeared it over my cod and baked it until it was nice and…… yes. Rubbery.
I overcook it every…… dang….. time!!
So I leave it up to you to decide on the best cooking time for you. The sauce tasted great, and had the fish not been overcooked, this would have been a lovely meal.
Recipe note: This sauce is pretty strong. Go easy if you prefer milder flavors.
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Ingredients
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 3 tbsp. lemon juice
- ½ tbsp. paprika
- ½ tbsp. ground cumin
- ½ tbsp. garlic powder
- 1 tbsp. dried parsley
- 1 tbsp. dried cilantro
- 1 ¼ lbs. raw cod
Instructions
- Mix all the ingredients (except the cod) in a small mixing bowl.
- Lay out your raw cod in an oiled baking dish and spread the sauce over the top of the fish evenly.
- Bake at 350 F. for about 20 minutes (I baked mine for 25, which was too long).
I could be the cod itself. It has a way sometimes. What about another white fish like bass?
Lakeisha – Happens with any fish I make. Even salmon.
Even 20 minutes is likely way too long, Tiffany – unless you are baking a large, Whole fish, not fillets. . (which explains why yours is always rubbery). Try cooking it for 10 minutes, then check it every 2 minutes after that. As soon as it flakes, it’s done. and, then don’t let it sit long before eating it, as it continues to cook & will dry out quickly. Fresh fish, cooked to perfection – there’s no equal! Ps. Thank you for the recipe! It looks great & will be trying it tonight! 🙂
Awesome! Ya, I seem to have a real problem understanding what flaky fish is. I’ll keep working on it. Thank you!
Awesome!!!
Awesome! Thanks for the tip!
Thanks! I’ll have to try your thawing tip. Maybe that was part of the problem.
My pleasure! So glad you enjoyed it!
Awesome! I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
Also about the issues with baking fish, it helps if it’s in a covered baking dish. This keeps all the juices in and keeps it from over cooking. =) Hope that helps, it took me forever to figure it out, then I saw it in a recipe, and it totally worked! Even if I just make it with black pepper, lemon juice and a little salt, always in a covered baking dish.
Awesome tip! Thanks Anna!
I made this tonight and it came out perfect! The only thing I did differently was I didn’t use cilantro because I didn’t have any.
I placed my cod on a parchment lined cookie sheet and roasted at 450 degrees for 8-10 minutes and it flaked nicely. This is also the perfect temperature and cook time to include some roasted asparagus or vegetable of choice.
Make sure your fish is fresh or thawed and only cook long enough to turn it opaque, 20 minutes would be too long for this dish.
Holly – Thanks for your input! I’m glad it turned out well! 😀