Cod Fillet with Pearl Onions and Pea Puree

Ingredients

• 150 g butter
• 12 x hazelnuts
• 4 x delicacy onion
• 8 x small potatoes
• 4 tbsp sun flower oil
• 100 g frozen peas
• 2 tbsp tarragon
• 1 x lemon
• 200 g cod fillet

Method

1. Hazelnut butter: Add 1/3 of the butter to a small saucepan and set on medium temperature. When the butter melts it will start to boil, it may squirt a little. Browning butter requires a little patience, and many people fall for the temptation to raise the temperature, but then it may burn.
2. Simply explained, we want to evaporate all the water in the butter, so when it stops frying and it becomes quiet in the pan, it is ready. Thats it. Set aside on low heat and add some hazelnuts, without skin, preferably coarsely chopped.
3. Pearl onions: Pearl onions are placed in boiling water for 60 sec. Remove and let cool a little. Carefully cut the very tip and squeeze out the onion. This way you can quickly peel them and be left with nice little onions, without shells. Feel free to clean the tail carefully with a knife, but keep it on so they don’t fall apart.
4. I put the onions in the pan together with the potatoes and fry them golden. The longer you fry, the more sweetness you get.
5. Potatoes: I use small potatoes and cook them in lightly salted water for 6-8 minutes before letting them cool off. Cut in halves and fry on medium heat in a little sunflower oil, add a tablespoon of butter after a few minutes and let it simmer on medium heat.
6. Prepare the cod: Clean the fish and cut into suitable pieces, I use about 200 gr per person. Lightly salt it and leave it on a piece of paper for 10-15 minutes. Rinse in cold water, and dry the pieces well with kitchen paper so they are completely dry when they go into the pan. Put the frying pan on medium heat and leave it while you make the pea puree.
7. Pea puree: Bring frozen peas into boiling water, about 2 minutes. Pour over a colander and have a cup underneath to collect some of the water. You can use the water to dilute the purée if it gets too dry.
8. Put the peas in a food processor and puree it together with a good tablespoon of butter and a pinch of salt, and squeeze a little lemon to complete. Keep it on low heat afterwards. For extra flavor, you can add fresh tarragon or dill before you run the purée.
9. Pan-fried cod: I screw up the heat a notch before I add sunflower oil, and carefully place the fish into the pan. Remember that cold fish in a hot pan lowers the temperature, so if you have too low a temperature in the pan, or too much fish in the pan at the same time, it will boil and not fry.
10. After four minutes, I add some good blobs of butter, and use a tablespoon to pour the hot liquid over the fish and thus fry it on both sides at the same time. The trick is to get a good crust, without overcooking the fish, so watch carefully. Take it out of the pan before flaking, and let it rest for five minutes on a foil.
11. Serving: A large spoonful of pea puree in a hot plate, put the cod, potato and onion around, and finally the hazelnut butter. Serve with a lemon on the side.