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Oven Baked Cod with Pea Purée and Crispy Bacon

Flaky oven baked cod served on a smooth pea purée with crispy bacon and bacon butter, finished with golden roast potatoes. A simple but comforting dinner that’s full of flavour.
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Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 45 minutes
Total Time 1 hour
Servings: 2
Course: Main Course
Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

For The Roast Potatoes
  • 500 g potatoes
  • 2-3 tbsp oil
  • salt
For The Cod
  • 2 cod fillets
  • salt and black pepper
  • small squeeze of lemon (optional)
For the Pea Purée
  • 1 small bag of frozen peas (about 200-250g)
  • 1 small clove of garlic
  • salt and pepper
  • splash of the pea cooking water
For The Crispy Bacon
  • 1 pack of streaky bacon
  • lactose-free butter (optional)

Method
 

Roast The Potatoes
  1. Preheat the oven to 200°C.
  2. Peel the potatoes and cut into roasting pieces.
  3. Parboil in salted water for 8–10 minutes until the edges begin to soften but the potatoes are not fully cooked.
  4. Drain well and return them to the pan with the lid on. Shake the pan to rough up the edges.
  5. Place a roasting tin with oil in the oven to heat until the oil is very hot.
  6. Carefully add the potatoes to the hot oil so they sizzle immediately.
  7. Roast for 30 minutes, turning once, until golden.
Cook The Cod
  1. Lower the oven temperature to 180°C.
  2. Pat the cod fillets dry with kitchen paper.
  3. Season with salt, pepper and a squeeze of lemon if using.
  4. Place the cod in an oven-proof dish, slightly elevated on birch sticks or similar so the fish doesn’t sit in its juices.
  5. Bake for 20–25 minutes until the cod is cooked through and flakes easily.
Make the Pea Purée
  1. Cook the frozen peas in a small pan of water until tender.
  2. Drain the peas, saving a small amount of the cooking water.
  3. Add the peas to a blender with the garlic, a splash of the cooking water and seasoning.
  4. Blend until smooth.
  5. Return to the pan and keep warm on a very low heat.
Cook The Bacon
  1. Cut the streaky bacon into small pieces.
  2. Fry the bacon pieces in a pan over medium heat until crisp. If you like, add a knob of lactose-free butter to the pan to create a richer bacon butter for drizzling.
  3. Cook until the bacon becomes crispy and the butter turns into a rich bacon butter.
Assemble the Dish
  1. Spoon the warm pea purée onto each plate.
  2. Place the cod fillet on top.
  3. Scatter the crispy bacon over the fish.
  4. Serve with the roast potatoes and drizzle over the bacon butter.

Notes

  • Keeping the cod tender
    Elevating the cod slightly while baking prevents the fish from sitting in its juices and helps it cook gently. This keeps the cod tender and flaky rather than watery.
  • Bacon butter drizzle
    As the bacon cooks it releases a rich, savoury fat. Drizzling a little of this bacon butter over the fish and roast potatoes adds an extra layer of flavour and makes the dish feel a little more indulgent. Use as much or as little as you like.
  • Roast potato tip
    For crisp roast potatoes, make sure the oil in the roasting tin is properly hot before adding the potatoes. They should sizzle as soon as they hit the pan.