Ligurian Cod and Crushed Potatoes with Dairy-Free Basil Pesto and Green Beans
A Ligurian-style lunch built around the Genoese trio of fish, potato, and basil pesto — the same mountain-and-sea logic that put pesto on trofie pasta gets used here on flaky cod and crushed baby potatoes. Cod is one of the densest natural iodine sources on the menu, the mineral your thyroid uses to make hormone in the first place.
- Prep
- 10 min
- Cook
- 15 min
- Total
- 25 min
- Servings
- 1
Ingredients
- 130g (raw)Atlantic or Pacific cod fillet
- 160g (cooked, skin-on)baby potatoes, halved
- 80ggreen beans, trimmed
- 8gfresh basil leaves
- 10gpine nuts
- 1tbsp (14g)extra virgin olive oil
- 1clove (3g)garlic, peeled
- 1tsp (2g)lemon zest
- 1tbsp (15g)lemon juice
- 1tbsp (4g)flat-leaf parsley
- 1/4tsp (1.5g)sea salt
- 1/8tspblack pepper
Instructions
- 01
Bring a small pot of salted water to a boil. Add the halved baby potatoes and cook 10 minutes until just tender. In the last 3 minutes, drop in the green beans. Drain and rinse the green beans briefly in cold water; keep the potatoes warm.
- 02
While the potatoes cook, toast the pine nuts in a dry small skillet over medium heat for 2 minutes until just golden. Tip into a mini food processor or mortar.
- 03
Add the basil, garlic, lemon zest, half the olive oil, and a pinch of salt to the pine nuts. Pulse (or pound) into a chunky pesto. Loosen with 1 tablespoon of warm water.
- 04
Pat the cod dry. Season with salt and pepper. Heat the remaining olive oil in a non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Cook the cod 3-4 minutes per side until it flakes easily.
- 05
Crush the warm potatoes lightly with the back of a fork. Plate the potatoes and green beans, lay the cod alongside, spoon over the pesto, and finish with the lemon juice and chopped parsley.
Nutrition (per serving)
- Calories
- 478kcal
- Protein
- 30g
- Carbs
- 38g
- Fat
- 22g
- Fiber
- 6g
- Selenium
- 42mcg
- Zinc
- 1.7mg
- Iron
- 3.2mg
- B12
- 1.1mcg
- Iodine
- 130mcg
- Sodium
- 580mg