Slow-Cooker Basque-Style Cod with Piperade and Olives
Piperade, a Basque dish of sweet peppers, tomatoes, plenty of garlic and medium-hot Espelette chile, makes a wonderful topping for braised fish. In this version, the addition of salty-tangy green olives and a garlicky parsley garnish heightens the flavor of the dish. Chop the olives and mix them in with the parsley, if you like. Roasted potatoes are an ideal accompaniment.
Ingredients
- 3 Tbs. tomato paste
- 5 Tbs. olive oil
- 3/4 tsp. piment d’Espelette or regular (unsmoked) paprika
- Kosher and freshly ground pepper
- 15 garlic cloves, smashed, plus 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 1 large yellow onion, halved and thinly sliced
- 1 green bell pepper, seeded and thinly sliced
- 1 yellow bell pepper, seeded and thinly sliced
- 2 red bell peppers, seeded and thinly sliced
- 1 1/2 lb. (750 g) cod fillets
- 2 Tbs. coarsely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
- 1 Tbs. sherry vinegar
- 1/2 cup (2 1/2 oz./75 g) pitted picholine or Spanish green olives
Directions
In a slow cooker, whisk together the tomato paste, 3 Tbs. of the olive oil, the piment d’Espelette, 1 tsp. salt and several grinds of pepper. Add the smashed garlic cloves, onion and bell peppers and mix well. Cover and cook on the low setting for 4 hours, stirring two or three times if possible. Stir the peppers, add the fish, re-cover and continue cooking for 30 minutes. The fish should be firm yet very tender and the peppers should be tender.
Meanwhile, in a small bowl, stir together the parsley, finely chopped garlic, the remaining 2 Tbs. olive oil and the vinegar. Set aside.
Using a slotted spoon, transfer the fish and peppers to a platter or divide among individual plates. Drizzle the parsley mixture over the peppers and fish, garnish with the whole olives and serve. Serves 6.
Adapted from Williams Sonoma Everyday Slow Cooking (Weldon Owen 2018)