I confess I thought we’d eat out much more during our kitchen remodel. It just hasn’t happened, since neither of us could really get into it. Cooking at home is just too fun. As it turns out, the single, plug-in electric burner on the dining room table and the grill on the porch have saved us. We have been able to cook many of our simple “work-horse” dishes with these. Thank goodness!

steamed wild pacific cod with green pea purée and cherry tomato salad

Clean-up is a nightmare without a kitchen sink or dishwasher, and the whole apartment remains a complete mess, but it is nice to feel empowered. You can live fully even kitchen-less. Who knew? I suppose this has been a bit like camping, though I cannot imagine doing that for three or four weeks in a row…

I was thinking about spring when I made this dish, even though our vegetable markets are still carrying lots of winter produce. That’s the reason I used organically grown fresh frozen peas here. Fresh peas should be coming out soon, so look for them at your local markets. The codfish was fresh wild caught in the Pacific Northwest.

Especially considering the limitations, I think this dish came out pretty good. Steven said it looked and tasted like something from a gourmet restaurant. What a compliment.

who says that you cannot cook gourmet in primitive working conditions

steamed wild pacific cod with green pea purée and cherry tomato salad

for the green pea purée:

1lb fresh or frozen green peas
4 tbsp grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese
2 cloves garlic
4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
salt and black pepper to taste

for the fish:

1lb fresh codfish
salt and black pepper to taste
2 slices red onion
juice of ½ lemon
5 sprigs fresh oregano
2 tbsp olive oil
red pepper flakes to taste

for the cherry tomato salad:

1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
salt and black pepper to taste
1 to 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
5 basil leaves shredded and tossed with tomatoes just before serving

Pre-heat grill to highest temperature (ours gets to around 500F).

Toss tomato, salt, pepper, olive oil and balsamic vinegar together and let it macerate in room temperature for about 15 minutes. Toss with basil just before serving.

Line a small metal baking pan with aluminum foil, leaving enough extra to cover pan. Drizzle lined pan with a bit of olive oil, add oregano sprigs and onion slices. Gently arrange fish on top. Add salt, peppers, lemon juice and olive oil. Fold foil to seal. Put pan on grill and steam fish for 12-15 minutes.

Meanwhile bring two cups of lightly salted water to a boil. Add peas and cook for 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat and drain, reserving half a cup of cooking juices, and a couple of tablespoons of whole peas for decoration.

Throw garlic, cooked peas, olive oil, and reserved cooking juices in food processor. Purée until smooth. Process in cheese, salt and pepper. Adjust flavors if needed. Transfer purée back into the cooking pot and keep warm.

To serve, spoon some green pea purée in the center of a dish, carefully lay fish over it and to one side, and add cherry tomato salad to the other side. Garnish with reserved whole green peas.