My simple recipe for pan seared cod with lemon sauce is a fast weeknight dinner which is full of flavor! Tender fish, golden brown crust, and a lemon, caper, and parsley sauce perfect for spooning over rice or pasta or sopping up with some crusty bread.
I love thick-cut cod for dinner. It’s meaty, versatile, and low in fat. All of which makes cod a regular in my dinner rotation. However it always seems so simple, so I haven’t posted very many cod recipes here!
A few, like my parents’ all time favorite of my recipes: Oven Fried Cod with Cara Cara Salsa; and a great Baked Mediterranean Cod (one dish meal!) have made the cut. But I really need to share some of my other cod recipes.
Luckily, for all fish recipe fans out there, I have been looking at my diet and have decided to bring my cooking more in line with the Mediterranean Diet. I’ve always taken inspiration from that diet, but it’s time to work more Mediterranean diet recipes into my life and into my cooking blog.
What does it mean to follow the Mediterranean diet?
- More fish
- More vegetarian/vegetable recipes
- More grains
- More simple, fruit forward desserts
So, I have been working on fish and seafood recipes, grain bowls, salads, vegetable soups, and fruit desserts. All foods I’ve been making right along, but I’m putting them more in the forefront of our daily meals, and making fewer meat-based meals and sugary treats.
Don’t worry though! I’m not going to entirely give up baking (I love it too much) or Italian-American comfort food (I did just post a totally awesome short rib ragu). However, we could all do with more whole grains, more fish, more vegetables, and less sugar/cream in our lives.
Yes? Good! Let’s start with some cod with lemon sauce. š
Baked vs Fried
The concept for this recipe started with the idea of a pan seared then baked cod, rather similar to my pan roasted chicken thigh recipes. And this can work if you are doing a proper breading on the cod which will act like the skin of the chicken. But, with dredged cod, no matter what I did the flour was gummy and the cod was soggy rather than crispy. This just would not do!
Other than that, the flavor was good. We liked the seasoned flour and the lemon sauce with the cod. Which meant that a simple shift was in order. Instead of searing then baking, just searing gave me crispy, golden-brown cod with fully cooked flour.
For cod dredged in flour? The answer is clear. Frying wins over baking.
How to pan sear cod without sticking?
Cast iron!
Seriously, a well seasoned cast iron pan is amazing. You can cook fish with little or no sticking (sometimes a bit of coating sticks, but that just makes the sauce better), use high heat, and pop it in the oven if you want. Cast iron is the best and everyone should have a pan or two.
How do you wash cast iron?
Worried about cleaning your cast iron?
Don’t! Cast iron does need a little maintenance, but you can use soap and you can use a scrubby sponge to get it clean. I scrub my cast iron every time I use it and it’s well seasoned and cooks like a dream.
The secret is to wipe it down with vegetable oil, wipe most of that off (you want the thinnest coat possible), and heat it on the cook top for a few minutes to get all the water evaporated after you scrub it. That will keep your cast iron happy! (And – if you need an extra deep cleaning – you can pour in some kosher salt and some oil and then scrub it with a paper towel. That gets it especially shiny. š It’s also a great plan if you want to go from…say cooking fish to making dessert in your cast iron.)
This meal takes me about 30 minutes to make, including steaming up some veggies and making the orzo. And it’s a family pleasing favorite around here. Win/win in my book!
If you try my recipe for Pan Seared Cod with Caper, Parsley, and Lemon Sauce, I would love to hear from you in the comments with your experience and rating! And Iām happy to answer any questions you might have.
You can connect with me by subscribing to my emails (see the form in the sidebar or below the recipe card), liking my FACEBOOK page, or by following me on PINTEREST.
– Happy Eating, Annemarie
Pan Seared Cod with a Caper, Parsley and Lemon Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 lb thick cut cod fillet, cut into 4-5 pieces
- 4 tbsp fresh lemon juice, divided, one tbsp for the fish and 3 tbsp for the sauce
- 2-3 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp unsalted butter
- 5 medium cloves garlic, chopped
- 2 tbsp capers
- 1/2 cup dry vermouth, or dry white wine
- 1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
Seasoned Flour
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1 dash cayenne powder
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1/4 tsp fresh ground black pepper
Instructions
- Sprinkle one tablespoon of lemon juice over the cod fillets and set them aside while you prepare the rest of the ingredients. Allow the lemon juice to sit on the cod at least 15 minutes, up to 30 minutes.
- In a shallow bowl, mix together all the seasoned flour ingredients. Pat the fish dry and dredge in the seasoned flour, shaking off the excess.
- Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil and the butter in a cast iron skillet over medium-high heat until the pan is hot and the oil is shimmering. Add the cod and cook for 5-6 minutes on the first side. The fish will take a couple of minutes to release from the pan. Once it does, keep an eye on it and check for browning. When it's a deep, golden brown, turn the fish.
- Continue cooking the fish on the other side until it is browned and the fish is cooked through, about another 5-6 minutes. Add another tablespoon of olive oil if needed.
- Remove the fish to a serving dish and let it rest while you make the sauce.
- Add the garlic and capers to the pan and cook, stirring constantly for 30 seconds. Add the vermouth to deglaze. Bring it to a boil and scrape up all the browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Boil for 1 minute. Then add the lemon juice and parsley. Stir to combine and bring to a boil again. Immediately pour the sauce over the fish and serve.
Notes
- Thick cut cod is often called captain's cut cod. If you can't find thick cut cod, you can use thinner pieces, just reduce the cooking time. Either way, try to find pieces which are all the same thickness so they all cook together.
- I like to serve this recipe with some simple cooked orzo tossed with olive oil and a steamed vegetable.
Deena says
Hi! What would happen if i pan seared the cods without the flour? And followed everything else?
justalittlebitofbacon says
You may find the fish to be a little less tender and a little drier if you fry it up uncoated. It won’t be terrible, but it will be better with the coating. If it’s a gluten issue, you can switch to cornstarch. I hope that helps!
Reba says
Simple and delicious. I happened to have scape butter in the freezer so added that to sauce
Also used fresh lemon thyme with parsley to finish the sauce (have both growing in the herb garden). I omitted dried thyme from flour because I was adding fresh. Served mine with a mushroom risotto and sauteed red peppers.
justalittlebitofbacon says
Oooh scape butter! I’m glad you enjoyed it and love the use fresh herbs.
Victoria says
Have had this pinned for a bit, finally made it tonight…delicious….
justalittlebitofbacon says
Wonderful! I’m glad you enjoyed.
Chrissy says
is there anything that I can substitute for the vermouth or white wine? I have neither in the house right now….
justalittlebitofbacon says
I would switch to chicken stock with a dash of wine vinegar (not much, just enough to mimic the acid of wine).
Paula Nicholson says
This lemon cod is delicious ! I doubled the sauce, plated it with a light amount then served on the side so diners could add more if they wished.Have made this 4x now.Last time I used a bit of cornstarch to thicken the sauce which was nice. .Great served with string beans or snap peas.Love it!
justalittlebitofbacon says
Wonderful! I’m glad you’re enjoying the recipe.
Terri Tullly says
Definitely a 5 star recipe! Excellent!!
justalittlebitofbacon says
Thank you for the feedback!
Marcella says
This was my first time making pan seared cod and it came out GREAT! I will definitely make this again with more sauce. Thanks for sharing this recipe!!
justalittlebitofbacon says
Great! I’m glad you enjoyed the recipe and thank you for your feedback.
Deborah Corral says
Thank you for this recipe! I made this last night and it is delicious. My husband really enjoyed it! I wanted to prepare Cod in a different way and this was successful. The only change made was to half the recipe except for the vermouth and lemon juice since I only made 2 pieces of fish. but wanted enough sauce. I am trying to make some tasty but healthy dishes while we are staying in and social distancing, this fits the bill perfectly. My husband said “make it exactly the same way next time” so definitely a keeper. Thanks again!.
justalittlebitofbacon says
Great! I’m glad you both enjoyed it. And you can’t go wrong by having extra sauce. š
Grace says
This recipe was so delicious! Will be making again!
justalittlebitofbacon says
Thank you! And I’m glad you enjoyed it! š
Monika says
I made your baked Mediterranean cod last night that you referenced earlier in this post and it was Amazing! I am having trouble saving the recipe to Pinterest. The image saves, but nothing else. . Could you help somehow?
http://www.justalittlebitofbacon.com/mediterranean-cod-mixed-vegetables/
justalittlebitofbacon says
I’m so glad you enjoyed the Mediterranean cod! As for the pinterest issue, I’ve been working through all my recipes fixing it (it’s a weird coding thing that showed up recently) and missed that one.I have now fixed the cod recipe and it will pin properly. Thank you for bringing that to my attention. (BTW if you could give me a review on the recipe itself, I’d really appreciate it. š )
Kim says
This recipe is simple yet delicious! It looked so pretty on the plate I almost didn’t want to eat it…. almost
I added an extra 12 tablespoon of lemon juice because I like a little more citrus with cod and it came out perfect. We’ll definitely be making this again and again and again.
justalittlebitofbacon says
I’m thinking half tablespoon, because if it’s 12 for real you are a BIG fan of citrus. š
Thanks for the review! I usually keep some lemon at the table for people to add more if they wish.
Ashley Helm says
I was pleasantly surprised by this dish! I found the breading to be a bit salty but paired with the sauce, it was actually very good! I had a little trouble getting my thick cut cod to cook all the way through before burning but I managed. This was really yummy and I will try it again, probably with a bit less salt next time. I also used about a tablespoon less lemon and that was the perfect amount for me.
justalittlebitofbacon says
I’m glad you enjoyed it!
Justin says
Terrible..
justalittlebitofbacon says
I’m sorry you didn’t enjoy it! š