Pan-fried Cod with Colcannon Sauce

This pan-fried cod with colcannon sauce is the perfect meal to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day. The creamy sauce is super rich, perfect with the tender cod.

I came across a version of this recipe on the (formerly BBC) Good Food website while searching for Irish recipes to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day. They were serving the colcannon sauce with steamed back bacon cut in thick steaks, something I cannot get here in Houston.

But that sauce immediately struck me as something that would be delightful spooned over cooked cod which is a rather bland white fish and could use a little bump in flavor. It was a great decision! 

Pan-fried Cod with Colcannon Sauce

Ideally, use the darker green outer leaves of the cabbage for color and contrast. Sadly, mine were rather pale. This is going to make more sauce than you need for the four servings of cod. Leftovers can be warmed gently over a low heat. 

Ingredients

For the colcannon sauce:

1/4 cup or 56g butter

3-4 cabbages leaves (mine weighed 4 oz or 115g whole)

2-3 green onions, plus extra for garnish

1 potato (my russet weighed 8.5 oz or 240g after peeling)

1/3 cup or 80ml white wine

1 cup or 240ml heavy cream

Fine sea salt

Ground white pepper

For the cod:

1 lb or 450g cod loin 

Fine sea salt

Ground white pepper

1 tablespoon butter

Optional for garnish:

Crispy bacon bits

Method

Cut the hard spines out of your cabbage leaves then roll them up tightly. With a sharp knife, slice them as thinly as possible. Then cut the spirals a couple of times across to shorten the strands. 

Peel and dice your potato. Slice the green onions.

Season the cod with the sea salt and white pepper and cut it into four reasonably even pieces. Set aside.

Melt half the butter in a pan and add the cabbage, potato and green onions. 

Cook over a medium low heat for 10 mins, covered, stirring often.

Pour in the white wine and cook till the white wine has all but evaporated and the potatoes start breaking down. 

You can speed this process along with a potato masher or fork. 

Add the cream and cook for just a few minutes until it is warmed through and starts to thicken. 

Season to taste with salt and pepper then remove from the heat. 

Stir the rest of the butter into the sauce and keep it warm until ready to serve.

To cook the cod, heat the butter in the pan until it just about starts browning, then put the cod in. 

Cook on one side until browned, then turn gently and cook the other side. Depending on the thickness of your cod, this could take from just a couple of minutes to as many as seven minutes. 

As you can see, one of my pieces from the end of the loin was much thinner than the others. I took it out first then left the rest until just cooked through. If you have an instant read thermometer, you are looking for an internal temperature of 145°F or 63°C.

Plate up the cod with a generous helping of colcannon sauce on top then garnish with green onions and some crispy bacon bits, if desired.

Enjoy! 

It’s Sunday FunDay and today we are sharing recipes for your St. Patrick’s Day celebrations. Many thanks to our host, Camilla of Culinary Cam. Check out the links below. 

• Colcannon, Ham Soup With Dumplings by Sneha's Recipe
• Easy Pretzel Ring with Beer Cheese Dip by A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Irish Beef Guinness Stew by Culinary Cam
• Pan-fried Cod with Colcannon Sauce by Food Lust People Love
• St. Patrick’s Day Brownie Bites Amy's Cooking Adventures

 

We are a group of food bloggers who believe that Sunday should be a family fun day, so every Sunday we share recipes that will help you to enjoy your day. If you're a blogger interested in joining us, just visit our Facebook group and request to join.

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Beef and Smoked Sausage Cabbage Rolls #FoodieExtravaganza

Ground beef and smoked sausage cabbage rolls smothered in a rich tomato sauce are the perfect meal. Vegetables and protein, all in one neat and tasty package.

I’ve never done one of those DNA tests, but with one grandmother whose maiden name was Fleming, I always figured that I am at least one quarter Irish. And while most of the recipes I learned from that grandmother were of Cajun origin (Mo, as we called her, grew up in southern Louisiana after all) a few probably came more from her Irish heritage.

Her cabbage rolls, for instance. Definitely not a Cajun thing. The way I remember it, when I was growing up, my mom used to make cabbage rolls using both ground beef and pork because I’m pretty sure that’s how my grandmother used to make them as well. Mo was always one to mix meats. She would never cook a beef pot roast alone. She added a pork roast to the pot saying that together they made each other taste better.

All my life, that’s what I’ve always done too, until just the other day when I decided that smoked sausage would be an even better idea than plain ground pork in cabbage rolls. And since I was trying to go low carb when I made them, I also left out the traditional rice my mom and grandmother would have added. If you'd like, you can add a 1/2 cup or 50g of raw rice to the filling mixture. But I promise you won't miss it if you don't.

Beef and Smoked Sausage Cabbage Rolls

Back in the day, my mother and grandmother would have blanched the cabbage leaves in hot water to soften them. By accidentally freezing lettuce at the back of my too-cold refrigerator, I discovered that freezing them does the same magic with way less fuss and bother.

Ingredients - serves 4: 2 cabbage rolls each
For the rolls:
8 whole cabbage leaves

For the filling:
1 medium onion, peeled and quartered
1/2 smoked sausage link (8 oz or 225g), cut into chunks
4 cloves garlic
2 large eggs
1 lb or 450g ground beef
1/2-1 teaspoon ground cayenne
Few generous grinds black pepper
Salt to taste
2 cabbage leaves, finely chopped (hard ribs removed and discarded)
Optional: 1/2 cup or 50g uncooked rice

For the sauce:
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
3 anchovy fillets
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground fennel
1/2 cup or 120ml dry red wine
4 cups or 1 kg canned chopped tomatoes with their juice
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
Parsley to garnish

Method
Put the whole cabbage leaves in the freezer to soften them.

Pulse the sausage chunks, quartered onion and garlic cloves in a food processor till they are turned into small pieces.

Add in the two eggs and pulse again until just combined. In a large bowl, combine the sausage/egg with the ground beef. Season with the two peppers and mix well.

Fry a couple of teaspoons of the mixture in a small pan. Taste and add more pepper, if necessary. I put more cayenne because we like things spicy. Here’s where you can add some salt if needed as well. My smoked sausage added enough saltiness to the mixture for my taste. You may want more.

Add in the finely chopped cabbage (and optional rice if using) and mix well again. Chill the filling while you get the sauce ready to go.

In a pan big enough to eventually hold 8 cabbage rolls, sauté the garlic and the anchovies in the olive oil until the garlic softens and the anchovies turn to mush. Sprinkle in the paprika, cumin and fennel.

 Give it all a quick stir then add the wine. Pour in the chopped tomatoes. Bring the pan to a boil and then lower it to a simmer. Sprinkle on some freshly ground black pepper.

Cook for about 10-15 minutes with the lid removed. Add in the baking soda. Stir till the bubbles stop. Adding baking soda to a tomato sauce was a trick I learned from an Italian mama. It sweetens the sauce slightly by reacting with (and reducing) the natural acidity of the tomatoes.

Pop the lid back on and turn the fire off while you stuff your cabbage.

Remove the cabbage leaves from the freezer. As they thaw, they should be soft and pliable.

Use a sharp knife to cut out the hard ribs in the middle and discard them. Stuff the cabbage leaves with the filling, folding the leaves around it.

 

Fit the cabbage rolls into the sauce pan.

Spoon sauce over the tops. Put the lid of the pan on and cook over a low fire for about 50-60 minutes. Check from time to time and add a little water if the sauce looks like it's drying out.

My grandmother never considered a dish finished without some parsley for garnish. Sprinkle on a little chopped parsley before serving.

Enjoy!

This month my Foodie Extravaganza friends are celebrating National Irish Food Day, or National "Eat Like an Irishman" Day (March 17th) early, by cooking and sharing Irish recipes. Many thanks to our host Karen of Karen's Kitchen Stories for her behind the scenes work and this fun theme.

• Beef and Smoked Sausage Cabbage Rolls from Food Lust People Love
• Colcannon from Sneha's Recipe
• Colcannon (Irish Potatoes and Cabbage) from Caroline's Cooking
• Cold Irish Day Cocktail from Our Good Life
• Dublin Coddle - Irish Bacon, Sausage, and Potato Stew from Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Instant Pot Dublin Coddle from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Irish Cheese and Walnut Biscuits from Simply Inspired Meals
• Irish Coffee from Tara's Multicultural Table
• Mushy Peas from Pandemonium Noshery
• Traditional Shepherd's Pie from Cookaholic Wife

Foodie Extravaganza celebrates obscure food holidays by posting delicious recipes your family will love. Posting day is always the first Wednesday of each month. If you are a blogger and would like to join our group and blog along with us, come join our Facebook page Foodie Extravaganza. We would love to have you! If you're a home cook looking for tasty recipes, check out our Foodie Extravaganza Pinterest Board!

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