Roasted Cod with Asparagus and Tapenade and Grape Tomatoes

I bought this big jar of Kalamata olives when I went grocery shopping last week. I sometimes like to add them in green salads or with tuna salad; and my husband love to snack on them as well. But I want to try something different, so I made some tapenade. I’m not sure what other dishes I can make with tapenade other than sandwich spread, or on grilled meats like lamb or chicken..  

Not sure if it’s good with shrimp (never tried that before), I don’t think it’s good with salmon as well. The reason I said this, because I saw Bobby Flay’s show one time on TV Food Network, where he made “Tapenade Crusted Salmon with Orzo”.  It looked good then. I waited a few days and checked the review about this recipe. Unfortunately it didn’t do very well. Most of the reviewer said the dish was very salty and the tapenade did not make a crust on the salmon.  And I love most of Bobby Flay’s recipes.  And then I came across this recipe on TV Food Network also, “Roasted Cod with Warm Tomato Olive and Caper Tapenade by Ellie Krieger of Cooking Healthy. The difference here is I have my tapenade made already with anchovies, garlic and parsley as well; and Ellie Krieger’s, she sautéed the chopped olive and capers with the tomatoes in extra virgin olive oil. I also added some blanched asparagus, I cannot resist the asparagus at the market today, and they looked really fresh. 

 

Here’s the recipe adapted from Healthy Eating by Ellie Krieger

Serves 4

1 pound cod fillet

3 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil, divided

1 tablespoon of minced shallot

1 cup halved grape tomatoes

2 tablespoons of tapenade

(If you don’t have tapenade made, you can use store bought) or

1/3 cup Kalamata or green olives pitted and chopped

2 tablespoons of capers drained and chopped

Ground black pepper to rub on the fish

1 pound asparagus, stalks peeled, trimmed and cut into bite size

Tapenade

2 cups Kalamata olives

1 clove garlic

3 anchovy fillet

2 tablespoons capers, drained

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

3 tablespoons fresh parsley

½ cup extra virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice

Directions:

Preheat oven to 450°F. Coat a baking sheet with cooking spray.

For the tapenade:  In a food processor, combine Kalamata olives, garlic, anchovy, capers, Dijon mustard and parsley. Pulse about 3 times. Then add extra virgin olive oil and lemon juice, process it again until a little bit chunky.

For the Asparagus: in a pot with ½ inch of water, bring it to rapid boil, season with salt, cook asparagus for about 2-3 minutes then transfer in ice water, so the asparagus will stay bright green. Then drain and put in a separate bowl until ready to serve.

Rub cod with 2 teaspoons oil. Sprinkle with pepper. Place on the prepared baking sheet. Transfer to the oven and roast until the fish flakes easily with a fork, 15 to 20 minutes, depending on the thickness of the fillet.

Meanwhile, heat the remaining 1 teaspoon oil in a small skillet over medium heat. Add shallot and cook, stirring, until beginning to soften, about 20 seconds. Add tomatoes and cook, stirring, until softened, about 1 1/2 minutes. Add the tapenade or your chopped olives and capers and sauté for about 2 minutes. When serving, spoon the tapenade and tomatoes mixture over the cod with the blanched asparagus.