Using canned lentils instead of raw saves you at least 30 minutes of cooking time. Here, we simmer them quickly with bacon and red wine to play up their earthy flavor; sliced celery stirred in at the end adds a fresh, crisp note. The lentils make a terrific bed for the mild, meaty cod fillets.
| Level: | Easy |
| Total: | 25 min |
| Prep: | 5 min |
| Cook: | 20 min |
| Yield: | 4 servings |
Ingredients
- 3 stalks celery, trimmed, peeled and thinly sliced on the bias, plus 1/2 cup loosely packed leaves
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- Four 6-ounce skinless cod fillets
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 4 slices bacon, cut into matchsticks
- 1/2 medium red onion, thinly sliced
- 1 clove garlic, finely chopped
- 1/2 cup red wine
- Two 15-ounce cans brown lentils, strained and rinsed
- 1/2 cup low-sodium chicken broth
- 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
Instructions
- Cook the bacon in a medium saucepan over high heat, stirring frequently, until just brown, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the onion and garlic, and stir constantly until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the wine, bring to a boil and cook, stirring, to scrape up any bacon and browned bits, for about 1 minute. Stir in the lentils, chicken broth and pepper flakes, and return to a boil. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally and reducing the heat if necessary to maintain a medium boil, until saucy but not watery, about 3 minutes. Remove from the heat, and stir in the celery, celery leaves, 1/2 teaspoon salt and a few grinds of pepper.
- Season the fillets all over with 1/2 teaspoon each salt and pepper. Heat the oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Once the oil shimmers, add the fillets skinned-side down and cook, undisturbed, until crisped and browned, 3 to 4 minutes (the fish should be opaque between the large natural flakes). Flip the fillets, and cook until just beginning to flake, 1 to 2 minutes. Remove the fillets from the skillet, and turn off the heat. Add the butter to the skillet, and allow it to melt and brown.
- Divide the lentils among 4 bowls or soup plates, top each with a fillet and drizzle with browned butter.
Nutrition Facts
| Calories | 480 calorie |
| Total Fat | 20 grams |
| Saturated Fat | 6 grams |
| Cholesterol | 95 milligrams |
| Sodium | 960 milligrams |
| Carbohydrates | 25 grams |
| Dietary Fiber | 12 grams |
| Protein | 43 grams |
| Sugar | 4 grams |
Reviews
Amazing! We were skeptical while cooking, but it tastes like a stew and the cod makes it seem buttery. So good!
We don’t eat a lot of fish. However, this is very good!
OMG!!! I love this dish. Cook it all the time. Even for my neighbors!!!! So different than my usual seared fish with a lemon butter sauce. It feels healthy, and you can serve it in 1 simple dish and you get your proteins, veggies, and starch…and they sneak some bacon in there. Who doesn’t love bacon?!?! And I think it IS pretty. Especially with the celery leaf sprinkle at the end and you have a beautiful sear on your Cod filled.
This is on constant rotation at my house. The flavor is fantastic and it’s really easy to throw together. I skip the melted butter because I think it tastes better without it and I use dried lentils cooked in my Instant Pot. One bag of dried lentils = 2x this recipe and they freeze well. I have made this with cod, grouper, and orange roughy – all with great results!
I’ve made this several times, using 2/3 cup dried lentils cooked according to package directions then added to the rest of the ingredients. Don’t skip the celery leaves — they bring a nice freshness to the dish. Very tasty, heathy twist on cod.
I didn’t have canned lentils, but I did have dry, so I made the lentil part in my instant pot. Still quick! Delicious, rich flavors while still healthy.
Very good.Whole family loved it
I wasn’t impressed with this dish. First, it’s not pretty. It’s a lot of brown on a plate. Second, it was very heavy and was missing something to lighten it up like citrus or something. Finally, If you don’t like raw celery, I’d slice the stalks super super thin or put it in earlier so it has time to cook. Initially, I was okay with the taste of the lentils, but after a few bites just couldn’t eat anymore because of how heavy it was. Won’t make again.
This is an elegant and healthy dish. My husband is a picky eater and he very much enjoyed the lentils and the cod (and he isn’t a seafood fan). I used cabernet sauvignon for the red wine. I also doubled the red pepper flakes because I prefer spicy foods, otherwise, I made the recipe as written and it’s a keeper and will go into my recipe rotation. I will say that I couldn’t find canned brown lentils (plain). Everything in the grocery store was lentil soup with other ingredients. Therefore, I had to cook the brown lentils which took 20-30 minutes and added additional time (about an hour total is what you should plan on if you can’t find the canned lentils the recipe calls for). For the cod, I had to watch separate videos on how to cook cod and used butter, salt, pepper, and lemon.
I know what I am doing with leftover lentil in freezer!
Thanx for all of the comments, very helpful!
I have made lentil for years, never added wine. A friend added the bottom of the blackberry wine after a holiday dinner, it was too sweet for me. I will try a drier red. I can remember all the dicing as she added more veggies, and leftover chicken, no pork! When cooking the lentil she added the skin and bones of the chicken, and all of the veggies. She had her own mix of spices including lentil.
She would not give me the recipes for the spice mixes while she was still cooking, she left them for me in her will! I will raise my bowl to her, in prayer!raf