Cod under a Marinade of Onion and Carrot

The marinade here is divided in two, and not for the sake of evenness. The bottom half goes into the oven together with the fish and gives it its juices and taste; the top half is put onto the cod once it is baked — it stays fresh, with recognizable carrot and herbs that haven't had time to lose their color over twenty-five minutes at 190 °C.

Cod wasn't chosen for this dish by chance: for a marinade you take lean, rather dry fish. Oily fish seems heavy in a cold tomato marinade, while dry fish, on the contrary, takes from it what it lacks.

And the main thing: the dish isn't served hot. It needs a couple of hours for the marinade to go all the way through the fish — until then it is simply baked cod with vegetables rather than cod under a marinade.

The same carrot, onion and tomato served hot, as a sauce rather than a cold marinade, is braised Baltic herring with onion and carrot in a pan. Vinegar, which this marinade does without altogether, does a different job in homemade canned fish in a pot: three or four hours of it soften the small bones of river fish.

Caloric content: 94kcal

Notes

• The sugar is added at the end, after tasting. The acidity of tomato paste differs from brand to brand, and the amount of sugar is different every time.
• The vegetables are stewed under a lid. Ten minutes until soft, then the lid comes off and the paste goes in — otherwise the marinade turns out watery.
• Grate the carrot coarsely and cut the onion into half-rings. The different shapes of the cuts are the only thing that gives this marinade texture.
• Pat the fillet dry with a paper towel. Moisture from the fish thins the bottom layer of the marinade into a sauce.
• 190 °C and no more. At a higher temperature the cod dries out before the marinade underneath heats through.
• The herbs go into the marinade, not on top. They are stewed together with the vegetables — that way they give their aroma to the whole dish.

Questions and Answers

Why divide the marinade in two?

The bottom half goes into the oven with the fish and gives it its juices and taste. The top half is put onto the cod once it is baked — it stays fresh, with recognizable carrot and herbs that haven't lost their color.

Why cod in particular?

For a marinade you take lean, rather dry fish. Oily fish seems heavy in a cold tomato marinade, while dry fish, on the contrary, takes from it what it lacks.

When should the dish be served?

After two hours, not hot. Until then it is simply baked cod with vegetables rather than cod under a marinade: the marinade needs time to go all the way through the fish.

How much sugar should be added?

By tasting, at the end. The acidity of tomato paste differs from brand to brand, and the amount of sugar is different every time.

Recipe and step-by-step photos — kolizhanka.net.ua.