Sauteed cod with pea cream (Italian)

This is a lovely way to serve cod and peas, dug up from a lovely book from the famous Silver Spoon series (which offer the best of what Italian home cooking has to offer). Cod pieces are marinated and gently fried, served on a bed of pea cream with a few whole peas, mustard seeds and dill in a perfect and elegant combination of flavors. The contrast between the various textures of the fish, mustard seeds, creamed peas and crunchy peas and so on is also one of the major perks of this dish.
Recipe from A Silver Spoon Collection book (Fish: Recipes from the Sea), via Saveur.

Last year: Pepitoritas (Mexican cajeta and pumpkin seed crescents).
Two years ago: Straciatella cream pie (Italian).



Ingredients (serves 2-3):

• 400 g cod fillet
• 450 g peas
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 2 tablespoons heavy cream (30% fat)
• 1 shallot or some other small onion
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 tablespoons mustard seeds
• juice from half a lemon
• salt and pepper

Cut the cod into pieces and place them in a deep dish. Sprinkle the lemon juice and mustard seeds on top of them and let marinate in the fridge for a couple of hours.

In a deep pot, melt the butter, then saute the minced shallot in it until soft. Add the peas and 1 cup water and mix well.

Let the peas cook for 10 minutes until the sauce is reduced. Meanwhile, season the cod with salt and pepper and fry it in the olive oil (with its marinade also):

Turn the cod pieces after 3-4 minutes on the other side as well.
When the peas are cooked, season well with salt and pepper to taste, than put aside 3-4 tablespoons of peas. Puree the rest in a blender, together with the heavy cream, until a fine a delicious puree is obtained.
Arrange a few tablespoons of pea cream on each plate, top with pieces of fried cod, then top with some whole peas which you've reserved before pureeing. The final touch: a little dill on top of each plate.
It's done, dig in! :)