If you want a delicious and easy (and nutritious!) meal, look no further than sesame roasted cod. Super easy to prepare and tastes super professional. Great for date night.
I always cook at home on Valentine’s day (it’s well known in the restaurant industry that it’s the worst night of the year to go out), but you don’t want to spend your entire evening in the kitchen. Impress your date with this delicious, healthy, and (easy) elegant meal. I have made this easy sesame roasted cod recipe in several settings: for a date, for a dinner party, making dinner with friends, and it is always an impressive hit. Simple and easy but elegant.
Many folks shy away from cooking fish at home, but this recipe is a great foray into getting more fish in your diet. Once you see how easy it is to roast fish at home, you’ll be able to easily incorporate it into your weeknight routine. This recipe features cod, a low fat, high protein mild white fish that is delicious and high in beneficial omega-3s. Eating omega fatty acid-rich cold water fish several times a week can dramatically lower your risk of stroke and heart attack because omegas can thin blood and prevent clotting.
Sesame Roasted Cod for Two
Two 6-8 oz black cod or sablefish fillets (can also use halibut steaks or any medium-thick mild white fish)
1 cup shiitake mushrooms, sliced
Sesame oil (I use toasted, unrefined sesame oil for more flavor)
Sea salt and fresh cracked pepper
Preheat oven to 450; place rack in middle. Clean the fish and drizzle each side with sesame oil, then sprinkle with sea salt and pepper. Toss the mushrooms with 1 tbsp of sesame oil and lightly salt and pepper them. Coat glass baking pan with olive oil or butter. Arrange filets in glass baking pan, then arrange mushrooms around the filets. Roast fish for about 10 minutes, stirring mushrooms once or twice, until fish flakes and mushrooms are cooked through. Garnish with scallions and toasted sesame seeds if desired. Serve atop bok choy or pea tindrils sauteed with garlic or an asian veggie stir fry.
You can also serve this with a sesame soba noodle salad – toss soba (read labels – some soba noodles, which should be 100% buckwheat, have wheat flour in them, OR make veggies noodles with your spiralizer) with tamari, sesame oil, rice wine vinegar, sliced ginger, cilantro, and top with toasted sesame seeds.
Enjoy!
Mary Vance is a Certified Nutrition Consultant and author specializing in digestive health. She combines a science-based approach with natural therapies to rebalance the body. In addition to her 1:1 coaching, she offers courses to help you heal your gut and improve your health. Mary lives in San Francisco and Lake Tahoe in Northern California. Read more about her coaching practice here and her background here.