Social Restaurant, located in the heart of downtown Ottawa, features numerous dishes to tickle your pallet. Fresh for spring, we are featuring one of the tastiest seafood dishes we’ve ever had the pleasure of sitting down to eat; Social’s legendary Black Cod. What makes this cod so special? Besides the fact that it’s made with chef Jordan Holly’s Grandmother’s recipe for chutney (Grandma makes the best food), it’s also made with some of the freshest Canadian ingredients. Visit Social restaurant to try it out or try your hand at creating this magnificent dish. Whatever you decide to do, you will not be disappointed.
Social’s Black Cod
Yields: Dinner for 4
4-7 ounce British Columbia Black cod Fillets
250 Grams Spaetzle
Assorted Seasonal vegetables
Beurre Blanc…. white wine, shallot reduction emulsified with cold unsalted butter
Maldon salt
Canola oil
Use a heavy bottomed non-stick pan. For instance, a well-seasoned cast iron skillet will work best
Pre heat the skillet on medium high heat,
Season the cod on the presentation side and set it onto a hot pan.
Sear for 2-3 minutes
Transfer the cod to a pre heated 425-degree oven for approximately 8 minutes.
Remove it from the oven and add 1-2 tablespoons of butter, 2 sprigs, lemon and thyme.
Finally, flip the fish, and baste with butter.
This dish can be done with any starch you like: sautéed fingerling potatoes, mash, rice or even risotto with lemon.
Spaetzle
For the spaetzle in a bowl combine the following:
1 cup of milk
Flour (enough to form a thick paste somewhat like a viscous pancake batter)
2 eggs
Pinch of Salt
Zest of lemon
Using a spaetzle press, (if you don’t have one you can use a box grater)
Press the batter through the press, directly into a pot of salted boiling water.
When the dumplings float to the top, let them cook for 2-3 minutes.
Proceed to drain off excess water and place the dumplings into an ice bath and reserve.
To serve, pre heat skillet with olive oil; and it gets hot, sauté the spaetzle until it is golden brown and crispy.
Plate Spaetzle in the center of the plate.
Top with vegetables and place fish in the centre of plate.
Drizzle with beurre blanc and finish with a drizzle of fresh lemon juice, a sprinkle of maldon salt and top with chutney of your choice.
Photography. Alexander Vlad
