Cod with Preserved lemons and cherry tomatoes

The inspiration for this dish came from a recent holiday in Trapani, Sicily. While I’ve used preserved lemons for some years -with chicken, quail, pork, rabbit, salads, couscous etc – I’d never before seen them in combination with fish.
The white, red and yellow, flecked with green dill makes for a very pretty dish It’s also exceptionally tasty.

4 cod or hake fillets, skinned
8 Belazzu preserved lemons, sliced in half
8 cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
handful fresh dill, chopped
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
olive oil
2 rashers (dry cured preferred) or 3 slices prosciutto, Parma, Bayonne or Serrano ham, cut into thin slices.
Serves 4

Pre-heat the oven to 220 degs. C
Place the fish in a flat open oven-proof dish and decorate with the cherry tomatoes and lemons.
Scatter the fresh dill over the top and add a small grind of sea salt and black pepper.
Streak the dish with a dash of olive oil.
Bake for 15-20 mins.
Meanwhile, crisp the rashers/ham in a very hot pan. Keep turning. Save and scatter the rashers/ham strips over the dish before serving.

I usually serve this with a simple leek mash. Boil and mash potatoes, season.
Meanwhile slice the green parts of 3 leeks into thin strips and microwave for 3 mins in a small bowl of water. Darin and stir into mash with a dash of olive oil.
A nice option is to do this ahead of the fish dish, put in another oven-proof dish and scatter finely-grated parmesan or pecorino over the top. Bake for 15-20 mins along with the fish.

Note: Belazzu preserved lemons are avaiilable from Greenacres, Wexford town and other good delis. I’d also recommend Belazzu white balsamic vinegar – try it mixed 1 part to 3 with a peppery extra virgin olive oil.