Chatham Island blue cod with green-lipped mussels and sweetcorn salsa

By Nikki & Jordan Shearer

Featured in Capital #75
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This dish screams New Zealand oceanic nature at its finest. The delicate sweetness and fresh flaky white flesh of Chatham Island Blue Cod is sought after by top chefs all around the world.

Paired with New Zealand green-lipped mussels, the subtle flavour balance of this dish will have anyone at your dinner table this summer reaching for more and mopping up those delicious juices with crusty bread.

We are lucky that our local butcher in Waterloo stocks snap frozen Chatham Island Blue Cod, fresh is best but snap frozen is the next best thing.

Serves 4

Ingredients:

Salsa

2 cobs sweet corn, husked and cut from cob
1-2 red chillies, seeds removed finely chopped
250g cherry tomatoes, quartered
bunch fresh coriander, roughly chopped
juice of half a lemon
drizzle of olive oil
salt and pepper

Broth

2 Tbsp olive oil
1 large Spanish chorizo sausage, sliced
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 large tomatoes, diced
¾ cup white wine
pinch saffron
¾ cup stock (chicken or vege)
1kg mussels (approx. 4-5 per person), cleaned and debearded

Fish

½ cup rice flour
2 tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp flaky sea salt
4 fillets of Chatham Island Blue Cod, trimmed and cut into portions
olive oil

To serve

2 spring onions,finely sliced
1 loaf crusty bread (optional)

Method:

1. Make salsa. Heat a dry frying pan on a medium-high heat and cook corn kernels for 3-4 minutes until beginning to char. Set aside to cool.
2. Prep all other salsa ingredients, and mix with cooled corn. Set aside.
3. In a large pot, heat olive oil on a medium heat and fry sliced chorizo for 2 minutes.
4. Add garlic and fry for another minute, until garlic softens.
5. Add diced tomato, white wine and a pinch of saffron.
6. Increase heat and bring to the boil, allowing the wine to begin to evaporate.
7. Add stock.
8. When liquid is boiling again, add mussels, cover tightly with a lid and steam for 6-10 minutes, shaking occasionally, until all mussels are opened. If any mussels have not opened, discard them.
9. While mussels are cooking, mix together rice flour, turmeric, and salt and coat Blue Cod fillets.
10. Pan fry fish in olive oil for 2-3 minutes each side, or until just cooked through.
11. Taste mussel broth and season with salt if required.
12. To serve, divide mussels between plates, and ladle over a generous spoon of broth (making sure you get some of the chorizo and tomato goodness).
13. Top mussels and broth with Blue Cod, corn salsa, and spring onions.
14. Serve with crusty bread to mop up any juices.