Name: Roast Murray cod with puttanesca butter
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 40 min
Total time: 60 min
Ingredients: 4 Murray cod fillets (400gm each), skin on, pin-boned; Anchovy fillets and thinly sliced chives, to serve; Puttanesca relish; 80 ml (1/3 cup) extra-virgin olive oil; 2 golden shallots, finely chopped; 2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced; 60 ml (¼ cup) verjuice; 2 tsp shio kombu, chopped (see note); 75 gm semi-dried tomatoes, finely chopped; 50 gm black olives, pitted, finely chopped; 50 gm baby capers, coarsely chopped; 50 gm pickled mustard greens, finely chopped (see note); 2 tsp fish sauce; ¾ cup finely chopped flat-leaf parsley; Puttanesca butter; 100 ml fish stock; 100 ml verjuice; 2 tbsp bonito dashi soup stock (we use Marutomo); 250 gm cold unsalted butter, cut into 1cm pieces

Lana chef Alex Wong shares his Italian-inspired recipe for roast Murray cod, resting on a bed of poppy puttanesca butter.

Ingredients

4 Murray cod fillets (400gm each), skin on, pin-boned

Anchovy fillets and thinly sliced chives, to serve

Puttanesca relish

80 ml (1/3 cup) extra-virgin olive oil

2 golden shallots, finely chopped

2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

60 ml (¼ cup) verjuice

2 tsp shio kombu, chopped (see note)

75 gm semi-dried tomatoes, finely chopped

50 gm black olives, pitted, finely chopped

50 gm baby capers, coarsely chopped

50 gm pickled mustard greens, finely chopped (see note)

2 tsp fish sauce

¾ cup finely chopped flat-leaf parsley

Puttanesca butter

100 ml fish stock

100 ml verjuice

2 tbsp bonito dashi soup stock (we use Marutomo)

250 gm cold unsalted butter, cut into 1cm pieces

Method

For puttanesca relish, heat oil in a frying pan over medium-high heat, add shallot and garlic; cook, stirring occasionally, until softened (5 minutes). Add verjuice and shio kombu; cook until reduced by three-quarters (2-3 minutes). Add remaining ingredients, except parsley; cook, stirring frequently until liquid has evaporated (2 minutes). Add parsley; stir until wilted. Set aside.

For puttanesca butter, place stock, verjuice and dashi in a small saucepan over high heat. Bring to the boil and reduce by half (5 minutes). Remove from heat, gradually whisk in butter, then stir in puttanesca relish and season to taste. Set aside until ready to use.

Preheat oven to 230˚C. Line a large oven tray with baking paper. Season cod fillets on both sides, place, skin-side up on prepared tray. Bake until just cooked (10-12 minutes). Rest 5 minutes before serving.

To serve, place cod on a serving platter, spoon over puttanesca butter and top with anchovy fillets and chives.

This recipe also calls for cooling (see method).

Shio kombu and pickled mustard greens are available from Asian supermarkets.
Note

Recipe by Alex Wong Chef

With a penchant for peppering Italian staples with a diverse range of flavours, Alex Wong has developed a reputation for being one of Sydney’s most innovative chefs. His dedication to Italian cuisine has shaped his career to date, with time at Ajo restaurant in Rozelle and Allegra Dining in Waterloo preceding tenures as head chef at Flour Eggs Water at Tramsheds and Osteria Di Russo & Russo in Enmore. Since launching Lana at Hinchcliff House for House Made Hospitality in 2021, Alex has been a finalist in Gourmet Traveller’s Best New Talent in 2022 and led Lana to the shortlist as Gourmet Traveller’s Best New Restaurant the same year. He was also named a finalist in NSW Chef of the Year in the 2023 SMH Good Food Guide Awards plus achieved a SMH Good Food Guide hat for Lana two years in a row and for Martinez in the 2024 SMH Good Food Guide Awards. Alex is executive chef of Lana and House Made Hospitality’s newest venue, Martinez, which opened in October 2023 within Quay Quarter Tower in Circular Quay.

Instagram

Photography by Ben Dearnley Photographer

Ben Dearnley is a Sydney-based photographer who has been shooting since 1995, after completing a Bachelor of Arts in Communication Studies at Newcastle University. He was a photography assistant for three years before starting his own photography business focusing on food, still life and lifestyle. He has worked for a large number of local magazines and cookbook publishers, including Australian Gourmet Traveller, Donna Hay Magazine, Delicious, Coles, Australian Women’s Weekly Cookbooks, Murdoch Books, Pan Macmillan and others. He also shoots content for brands such as Sonoma Bakery, The Heart Foundation and Napoleon Perdis. When not in his studio, he enjoys swimming, walking his current Cavalier King Charles Spaniel Hazel, and tinkering in his shed.

Instagram

Styling by Vivien Walsh

Ingredients

Method

Related stories