This next recipe is a gorgeous one: cod fish in a creamy winter vegetable navarin “de la mer”. Navarin is a creamy French vegetable stew and is mainly prepared with meat – lamb navarin is a very popular dish in France.
However I prepared a lighter version with cream, a steamed vegetable medley and a superb piece of cod fish instead of lamb.
So here is why.
I invited my parents over for lunch the other day.
Fish Lunch
And because my dad is a pescetarian I always go for a fish lunch.
Instead of doing the same cauliflower puree, green asparagus and pan seared fish, I decided to spice things up and step up my game.
This time I found these gorgeous looking cod fish steaks in my supermarket, exactly what I had in mind for this dish. I also collected whatever delicious winter vegetables I could find: turnips, beetroots, parsnips, pumpkin…
I also would have loved to add salsify as well but I couldn’t find any.
Too bad because I love salsify.
Easy Cod Fish & Winter Vegetable Navarin
To add a green touch, I bought samphire.
It is a sea vegetable that goes very well with fish. You can also find it under the name of sea beans.
A little word about the beetroot though.
If you add it to this dish: prepare it separately. Peel, dice and steam it separately from the other vegetables. Right before your plates fly out of your kitchen, add the beetroot cubes to the other vegetables.
Beetroot
What will happen if you add them to the cream sauce: it will make everything go pink.
And I mean: really pink. If you are OK with that, go ahead. I just sprinkled the warm steamed beetroot on top of the other vegetables.
Do you love this vegetable medley?
Then you should also check out another winter vegetables recipe: my oven roasted root vegetables!
Steamed cod in a creamy winter vegetable navarin “de la mer”, a lighter fish version of the classic French lamb navarin stew!
Enjoy!
Easy Cod Fish & Winter Vegetable Navarin Recipe
Steamed cod in a creamy winter vegetable navarin “de la mer”, a lighter fish version of the classic French lamb navarin stew!
- 4 fillets fresh cod
- 1 large fresh parsnip
- 1 small fresh beetroot optional
- 5,5 oz fresh pumpkin (155 g), cleaned
- 1 large fresh turnip
- 1 large potato
- 3 oz fresh samphire (85 g)
- 3 oz grey North Sea shrimp (85 g), optional
- 1 cup cream (240 ml)
- 2 medium garlic cloves
- 1 tsp unsalted butter
- ¼ fish bouillon cube
- pepper
- salt
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Peel, trim and clean the vegetables. Dice them all up into even bits.
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If you are using beetroot, peel, dice and steam or boil it separately and keep warm (see my introduction text).
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Steam or boil the (other) vegetables for 5 minutes until cooked but still a little crunchy. Then let the cooked vegetables cook a little. In the meantime slice the garlic finely and add it to a casserole together with the butter.
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Place this over medium heat and let the garlic gently fry for 5 minutes. Then pour in the cream and season with a little pepper and the crumbled fish bouillon cube.
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Stir and bring the cream to a light simmer. Then add the cooled vegetables to the cream (except for the beetroot - if using).
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Stir and let the vegetables warm through over very low heat. In the meantime cook, poach or steam the cod. Once the cod is ready, add the samphire to the vegetable cream sauce.
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Stir the sauce well and check the seasoning. Add extra pepper or salt to taste if necessary. Scoop the cream sauce and vegetables onto deep plates and top with the cooked cod. Sprinkle with grey shrimp and warm beetroot (optional). Serve hot.