COD DAMN. Crispy Fish, Potato Salad and Fresh Salsa

Sometimes on a winter night I like to serve a crisp Chardonnay and pretend we are in a summery lakeside home and eat fried fish with a fresh salsa. To be honest, I adore winter and its colder days, yet I still need a little copping mechanism here and there to make my meals more interesting and summer-like. It can't be soups and stews everyday- it gets a little heavy and repetitive. Frankly, I have no idea how people who dislike winter do it, if even I myself, the ice queen, need to fake summer once in a blue moon- you should move.

There is a little town near where I grew up, North Hatley, with homes by the water and a tiny post office (Johnny Depp shot a horror movie there if it helps you create the scene of a tiny and adorable lakeside village) and I like to imagine myself cooking there on a summer's day whenever it's cold and rainy here. It is close to Vermont and has one market, one souvenir shop, one marina. I hope to own a home there one day, I know I wouldn't miss the city one bit- other than my immediate access to my friends for wine and Ramen nights (but hey, they can drive). But, until then, here I am, and this is what I cooked.

You will need,

Fish:

Paprika (2-3 pinches)

Flour (enough to cover a small plate)

Cod (2)

Butter (1 tbsp, herbs and garlic)

Lemon juice (optional, 1 tbsp)

Sea salt-black pepper

Olive oil to fry (to cover 1/4 inch of the pan)

Parsley (2-3 tbsp)

Salsa:

Cherry tomatoes (a handful, chopped)

Cucumber (1/2, chopped)

Salt-pepper

Olive oil (2 tbsp)

Fresh lemon juice (1 tbsp)

Optional: balsamic glaze

Potato salad:

Red potatoes (5, cooked and chopped)

Shallots (2, raw and thinly sliced)

Scallions (2, chopped)

Salt-pepper

Parsley (a handful, chopped)

Olive oil (2 tbsp)

Dijon mustard (1 tbsp)

Maple syrup (2 tbsp)

A few simple steps,

1. To prepare the potato salad, you will need to chop the potatoes, cook them in boiling water until tender and drain, and then in a large bowl, add the chopped parsley (the more the merrier!), scallions and shallots and mix. You will then pour in the maple syrup, olive oil and mustard sauce which you will have whisked together beforehand. Add salt and pepper for taste.

2. While the potatoes cook, you can prepare the salsa as it only takes a minute or two! You want to chop the tomatoes and cucumber in very small cubes, mix them together with salt, pepper, lemon juice and olive oil (I personally love to add balsamic or even lime oil instead of lemon juice sometimes, go wild!). Place over the cooked fish in an artistic manner.

3. For the cod, you need to make sure to pat it dry with a paper towel, cover it in salt and pepper and then place it on a plate with flour and paprika as seen above. Add parsley to the pan and heat oil in it over medium heat. You will only need a couple of minutes on each side until the fish falls apart and is crispy!

Everything will take you about 15 minutes to prepare and it will taste like a lakeside summer's day. So wine not. I laughed just there.