Poached Cod in Butternut Squash & Coconut Sauce

Yields 4-6 servings

When cooking fish, sometimes the most delicious approach is delicately poaching it in a flavourful liquid. We essentially took the basis of a dairy-free butternut squash soup flavored with our Toasted Coconut Dressing and used it to gently poach whole cherry tomatoes and cod. This results in a creamy yet not overly rich sauce that can easily be mopped up with rice or bread. We chose to use a lean, white fish to make sure that the dish doesn’t feel too heavy, and then we topped it with toasted hazelnut gremolata for added freshness and crunch.

---

Assembly

Step 1
Preheat oven to 425ºF. Cut squash in half lengthwise and scoop out seeds. Transfer onto a sheet pan, drizzle oil onto the cut surface, and season with salt and pepper. Place the squash cut-side down and roast for 40 minutes to an hour (depending on size of squash).

Step 2
Meanwhile, prepare remaining sauce ingredients and hazelnut gremolata.

Step 3
Hazelnut gremolata: Toast hazelnuts either in the oven or on the stovetop. Let cool slightly then roughly chop. Combine all ingredients. Set aside.

Step 4
In a medium pot or saute pan, sweat onion, garlic, and ginger in olive oil until softened and fragrant.

Step 5
Add coconut milk, Toasted Coconut Dressing, roasted squash, and water. Blend with an immersion or stand blender, until smooth (there won’t be very much liquid, so a stand blender is more effective in this scenario). Bring the blended mixture back up to a simmer and season with salt and pepper.

Step 6
Add whole cherry tomatoes to the sauce, partially cover, and let simmer on low for about 5 minutes. Nestle in the pieces of cod between the tomatoes and make sure they are covered by the sauce. Cover and continue to simmer for about 10 minutes, or until cod is cooked and the tomatoes have burst. Carefully squish the tomatoes as they burst.

Step 7
Serve on rice or with bread and finish with hazelnut gremolata.

Ingredients

Butternut Squash and Coconut Sauce:

1.5 cup Roasted butternut squash (about 1 small squash)

¾ cup Yellow onion, chopped (about ½ an onion)

2-3 cloves Garlic, minced

2 inch Ginger, peeled, grated

1 cup Coconut milk

¼ cup Toasted Coconut Dressing

¼ cup Water

Hazelnut Gremolata:

¼ cup Hazelnuts

½ cup Parsley, minced

2 leaves Sage, minced

1 Orange, zest plus 1 tbsp juice

1.5 tsp Lemon juice

½ tsp Garlic, grated

½ cup EVOO

Salt and pepper

EVOO (for cooking)

9 oz Cherry tomatoes, whole

2 lb Cod (or other firm, white fish of your choice), cut into individual portions

---