Equipment
Ingredients
Fish
- 600 g cod fillets, boneless and skinless
- 15 ml olive oil
- 4 g salt
- 2 g black pepper, freshly ground
Brown Butter Sauce
- 60 g unsalted butter, cut into pieces
- 30 g pine nuts
- 5 g sumac
- 15 ml lemon juice, freshly squeezed
- 5 g fresh parsley, finely chopped
Nutrition (per serving)
Nutrition is estimated per serving. Nutrients without complete source data are omitted.
Full nutrition
- Calories
- 322 kcal
- Protein
- 28 g
- Carbohydrates
- 3 g
- Fat
- 22 g
- Fiber
- 1 g
- Sugar
- 0 g
- Sodium
- 490 mg
- Saturated Fat
- 9 g
- Monounsaturated Fat
- 8 g
- Polyunsaturated Fat
- 4 g
- Cholesterol
- 97 mg
- Potassium
- 722 mg
- Calcium
- 59 mg
- Iron
- 2.1 mg
- Magnesium
- 69 mg
- Phosphorus
- 353 mg
- Zinc
- 1.2 mg
- Vitamin A
- 126 mcg
- Vitamin C
- 5 mg
- Vitamin D
- 1.4 mcg
- Vitamin E
- 2.6 mg
- Vitamin K
- 29 mcg
- Vitamin B6
- 0.4 mg
- Vitamin B12
- 1.4 mcg
- Thiamin
- 0.15 mg
- Riboflavin
- 0.13 mg
- Niacin
- 3.5 mg
- Folate
- 16 mcg
- Water
- 129 g
Sources: Aggregated Public Data, USDA FoodData Central
Method
Preheat the oven to 200C or 400F. Lightly grease a baking dish with olive oil.
Thoroughly dry the cod fillets using paper towels. Season both sides evenly with salt and black pepper, then arrange them in the prepared baking dish.
Bake the cod for 12 to 15 minutes, depending on the thickness of the fillets. The fish is ready when it turns opaque and flakes easily with a fork, or reaches an internal temperature of 63C or 145F.
While the cod bakes, place the unsalted butter in a small skillet over medium heat. Allow it to melt and foam. Continuously swirl the pan until the butter develops a nutty aroma and golden brown specks appear at the bottom, which takes about 3 to 5 minutes.
Immediately add the pine nuts to the skillet with the browned butter. Toast them for 1 to 2 minutes until they are fragrant and lightly golden, then remove the skillet from the heat to stop the cooking process.
Stir the sumac and fresh lemon juice into the butter and pine nut mixture. Be careful as the lemon juice may cause the hot butter to sputter briefly.
Transfer the baked cod to serving plates using a spatula. Generously spoon the warm brown butter, pine nut, and sumac sauce over the top of the fish. Garnish with chopped parsley if using, and serve immediately.
Chef's Notes
- Patting the cod completely dry before baking is crucial. Surface moisture will steam the fish rather than allowing it to bake, resulting in a mushy texture.
- Sumac has a wonderfully tart, slightly fruity profile that mimics lemon but adds a brilliant crimson color. If you cannot find sumac, substitute with an extra squeeze of lemon juice and half a teaspoon of lemon zest.
- When browning butter, the transition from golden and nutty to burnt happens in seconds. Stay at the stove and use your nose as much as your eyes to judge when it is ready.
- Pine nuts are delicate and burn easily. Tossing them into the hot butter at the very end utilizes the residual heat to perfectly toast them without risking char.
Storage
Refrigerator: 3 days — Store in an airtight container. The butter sauce will solidify when chilled.
Freezer: 1 month — Freezing is possible but may slightly alter the texture of the cod and the crunch of the pine nuts.
Reheating: Reheat gently in a 150C or 300F oven until just warmed through to avoid overcooking the fish.
Troubleshooting
Butter turns black and tastes bitter
Cause: The milk solids in the butter burned due to high heat or being left on the stove too long after browning
Fix: Cannot be fixed. Discard the burnt butter and start over with a fresh batch
Prevention: Use a light-colored skillet to monitor the color change easily and remove from heat the moment it smells nutty and turns golden
Cod is tough and rubbery
Cause: The fish was left in the oven too long and overcooked
Fix: Cannot be fixed, but the rich butter sauce will help add moisture back to the dry fish
Prevention: Check the fish at the 10-minute mark and use a meat thermometer to pull it exactly at 63C or 145F
Pine nuts burn quickly
Cause: The residual heat of the skillet and butter was too high when the nuts were added
Fix: Use a slotted spoon to quickly rescue the nuts if they begin to darken too much, though severely burnt nuts must be discarded
Prevention: Remove the pan from the heat entirely before adding the pine nuts if the butter is aggressively browning
Cultural Context
Sumac is a foundational spice in Middle Eastern and Levantine cooking, harvested from the dried and ground berries of the sumac flower. Historically used to add acidity to dishes long before lemons were introduced to the region, it pairs exceptionally well with seafood, cutting through the richness of the brown butter while complementing the delicate flavor of the cod.
