Because fish roam the oceans, free of political, ethnic and language barriers, they tend to get many different names in different parts of the world. Like little finned spies, they lurk in the ocean depths, switching aliases as they move from port to port. Take the Sablefish for example. Depending on who you ask, you’ll hear it called anything from butterfish, to black cod, to blue cod, to bluefish, to candlefish, to coal cod, to coalfish. Confused yet?
Since I’ve always known it as Black Cod, I’m just going to keep it simple and use that name from here on. Like Patagonian Toothfish (a.k.a. “Chilean Sea Bass”), Black Cod is a white meat fish that’s extremely moist when cooked because of the amount of fat on it. But unlike “Chilean Sea Bass”, Black Cod from the North Pacific is MSC certified as sustainable. This means that you can enjoy this wondrous fish without any of the guilt you might feel from eating an overfished species. Of course you may feel a guilt of a different kind, when you put the first buttery bite in your mouth.
For this dish, I marinated the fillets in a sweet miso sauce accented with ginger and garlic. The sugar in the marinade absorbs into the skin and flesh and caramelizes as it’s broiling, which gives the meat a deep mahogany hue, and a crisp layer of skin. It’s a nice change to the usual soy marinades you commonly see used with Black Cod, and in my opinion, it works better.
The mustardy bitterness of the sauteed broccoli rabe beneath, offsets the richness of the fish nicely and to compliment the nutty notes in the miso, I added some natto (Japanese fermented soy beans). For those that aren’t familiar with natto, let’s just say it’s an acquired taste… It’s slimy like okra and has a pungent aroma that’s akin to a very ripe cheese. If that’s not for you, feel free to leave it out.
Miso Glazed Black Cod
1 lb black cod fillet cut into 4 pieces
1 Tbs sugar
1 Tbs white miso
1 Tbs mirin
1 Tbs sake
1 large clove garlic grated
1/2″ knob ginger grated1 lbs brocolli rabe chopped up
3 cloves garlic minced
1 package natto (optional)
Mix the sugar, miso, mirin, sake garlic and ginger in a small bowl. Rub this mixture into the cod then cover and refrigerate overnight.
Move the oven rack to the second position from the top and turn the broiler onto the “high” setting. Scrape any extra miso off the fillets and place them on a rack on top of a baking sheet, skin side down. Put the pan under the broiler and broil until the Black Cod is golden brown on the top side. Flip the fillets skin-side up and continue broiling until the skin is lightly charred and crisp. If you have thicker fillets, insert a fork into the thickest part of the fillet to see if it’s cooked. The meat should be opaque and come apart readily.
While the cod is grilling, heat a large pot over medium high heat until hot. Add a splash of olive oil and sauté the garlic until fragrant. Add the brocolli rabe and continue sautéing. Finish by adding the natto and included soy sauce packet (but not the mustard). Taste and add more salt as needed.
To serve, put down a bed of broccoli rabe and top with one miso glazed black cod fillet, with the skin side up.
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