Fried cod with potato spinach and a bacon and herb cream sauce

Hi there

I made dinner for my husband and son last night and thought Id share it. It was a fish dish on a potato cake with wilted spinach and a bacon and herb cream sauce. We liked it and it was fun to make.

Fish

4 x cod fillets
flour and
olive and butter
250 gms baby spinach

Fish cakes

500gm mashing potatos  peeled and chopped and cooked in salted water
100g butter
3 tbsp milk
1 1/2 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
200gm shredded savoy cabbage steamed
handful each parsley and coriander chopped
3 rashers of bacon chopped and cooked. Drained
2 eggs

Bacon and thyme sauce

3 rashers of bacon
2 shallots or a small white onion
1/2 cup white wine
300ml cream
10 sprigs of fresh thyme leaves picked
a handful of parsley chopped
juice of half a lemon

Combine potato milk and butter and mash.  Add spices, herbs, cabbage, bacon, season and let the potato cool. Once cool add one of the eggs and mix together. In your hands shape into pattie sized cakes and set aside on a plate. Put in fridge until needed.

When ready to start dinner beat the other egg in a bowl and in a frying pan add oil up to a depth of 5mm and heat to medium high heat. When hot dip the cakes in the egg to coat and fry for 2-3 minutes each side until golden. I then put in a warm oven to keep warm.

For the sauce in the same pan that the bacon for the cakes was cooked add a little more olive oil and the bacon and onions and cook over a medium heat until onions are tender.  Increase the heat and add the wine. Let it cook down a bit then add 3/4 of the cream. and the thyme. reduce the heat and let the sauce cook down by half. add the parsley and the lemon juice. Season and set aside.

In a seperate pan heat the oil and butter until foaming. Dust the fish with flour and put in the pan. Cook for 2-3 mins each side until just cooked but not dry. Baste with the butter/oil and then drain on a paper towel.

Add some butter to a final pan and when hot wilt the spinach and season.

To serve put a cake in the middle of the plate. top with the spinach and the fish. spoon the sauce around the cake and season again.