Dino Opificius' Cod Pesto

Ingredients:

take a good piece of fresh cod for each person
flour for coating the fish
a good belt of "Oil in the Raw" organic olive oil, or other top quality olive oil, if you can find it.
seasoning
old bread for the Pesto
sun-blushed tomatoes
juice of fresh lemon
roasted and skinned peppers
dry Vermouth
fresh coriander leaves
more "Oil in the Raw" organic olive oil
garlic butter
more fresh coriander and basil leaves
more Vermouth.
more seasoning
a pinch of sugar
a teaspoon of mustard seed

Take your pieces of cod, coat in flour and pan fry in "Oil in the Raw" Organic Olive Oil just long enough to colour the outside. Season.

To make a crusty coating: blitz some stale bread in a food processor to make breadcrumbs. Then, add to the crumb mixture: juice of fresh lemon, a slug of Vermouth, some fresh coriander and a dessertspoon of garlic butter. Blitz again in the food processor. Smear the mixture over the pieces of cod and finish in the oven for five minutes.

For the pesto, in a food processor, put the following: some sun blushed tomatoes (these are only half sun-dried); some roasted and skinned peppers; a good dollop of "Oil in the Raw" organic olive oil or other top quality olive oil, if you can find it anywhere; some fresh coriander and basil leaves; a slug of dry Vermouth; seasoning, plus a pinch of sugar; and a teaspoon of mustard seed. Blitz this all together. Add more of the best organic olive oil and stir to a good pesto consistency. Drizzle around the cod.

Dino Opificius. Owner and Head Chef at The Blue Fish, Norway lane, St.Ives
now also the Blue Fish Brasserie, Exeter.