Potato Squares

Like Wendy, I love Cook's Illustrated Magazine and America's Test Kitchen.  I was looking through one of their annual cookbooks and found a recipe for Lemon Herbed Cod and Crispy Potatoes.  We're trying to eat more fish, and cod is one of our favorites.  To be honest, I usually put it in a glass baking dish and pop it into a 400 degree oven for twenty minutes.  It's always perfect.  But that's not much of a recipe!

I have made this twice and, naturally, had to play with it a bit.  The pictures are from my first effort, when I tried to slice the potatoes as thin as possible.  Granted, the edges did turn very crispy, and tasted okay, if not a tad scorched, but in the future I'll be slicing them about 1/4 inch thick so they won't get quite so scorched along the edges.


The original recipe called for chopped garlic, but I shied away from that having burned garlic before.  I tossed the potatoes with garlic powder and paprika the second time and that worked well.  If you're a fan of rosemary, I think it would work well here.

The lemon on top makes a very pretty garnish (it's supposed to be on a sprig of thyme), but honestly, it didn't add anything to the flavor.  Do it if you're having company, and when you're alone, squeeze some fresh lemon on after it cooks if you're crazy for lemon on your fish.

It makes a pretty presentation, but you'll need two spatulas to lift the potatoes without messing them up.  Fortunately, if they slip, they're easy to reassemble.  I really love the look of these.  They're simple to make, and I can imagine them topped with salmon as well.  Spice them up with your favorite flavors!

It's a nice light lunch or dinner, with very little fat, except for the good omega 3 in the cod.  With all due respect to the incredible cooks at Cook's, I think calling the potatoes crispy in the title is a bit misleading since the entire portion under the fish is nicely cooked and tastes great, but certainly isn't crispy.

Cod on Potato Squares

3 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 pounds russet potatoes
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon paprika
salt
pepper
4 skinless cod fillets
lemon slices (optional)
3 tablespoons unsalted butter (optional)

Move oven rack to slot between bottom and middle.  Preheat to 425.

Grease a rimmed baking sheet with 1 tablespoon olive oil. Don't skimp on this step or the potatoes will stick.

Slice the potatoes into 1/4 inch thick rounds.  Toss with garlic powder, paprika, pepper, and salt.  Layer in squares so that each row of potato slices slightly overlaps the previous one.  Bake for 30 minutes.

Place one piece of cod on each potato square.  Top with bits of butter and a lemon slice if using.  Bake 15 more minutes.

 Enjoy!

Halloween is almost upon us.  Don't miss our special Halloween week starting next Monday.  Spookalicious dishes are planned, as well as a few prizes and treats!