Since I’ll be headed to warmer climes tomorrow to visit Demeter and Zeus in Texas, the next few posts will have a different feel.  Texas is famed, after all, for being “A whole ‘nother country”.  Posts will more than likely contain things such as enchiladas, nachos, margaritas, brisket and Shiner.  The stuff that still kind of runs through my veins as a Texas girl.  Good times, dear readers, real good times.

In anticipation of that, I made some fish for dinner tonight.  Zeus already snickered when I told him that I had vegetarian Indian food on Sunday. “Ha!  We don’t eat a lotta veggies down here.  We eat meat!”  I know Daddy.

Tonight’s cod was simply prepared and served alongside a seasonal, warm cabbage salad with mushrooms, shallots, and some crispy prosciutto which becomes delicate and almost glass-like when fried.  To boost the vegetable portion of the dinner, I roasted thin disks of potato and turnip.  Drizzled over all of this was a mustard and ume plum vinaigrette.

Simple Cod with Warm Cabbage Salad, Ume Plum Vinaigrette

3/4 pound cod

2 to 3 thin slices prosciutto, chopped

3 ounces mushrooms, minced

1 shallot, minced

3 cloves garlic, 1 minced, 2 peeled and left whole

1 small head cabbage, preferably Napa, cored and sliced in 1 to 2 inch wide wedges

1 potato, 1 turnip, both peeled and sliced into 1/4 to 1/2 inch slices

olive oil, salt, pepper, ume plum vinegar, Dijon mustard, sriracha

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Generously drizzle the potato and turnip slices with olive oil and season well with salt and pepper, place in roasting pan or on a cookie sheet.  Roast for 40 minutes, flipping halfway through the cooking time.

In a large saute pan with high sides and a lid, drizzle a bit of olive oil and heat over medium heat.  Add the chopped prosciutto and fry until crispy.  Remove to a paper towel lined plate to drain.  Add the mushrooms, shallot and garlic to the pan and soften for three to five minutes, stirring occasionally.  Stir in the cabbage, reduce heat to medium low and cover.  Stir occasionally to ensure all the leaves soften, about 10 minutes.

Drizzle the fish with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.  Cook over medium low heat in a nonstick pan, until flaky, about 5 to 8 minutes, depending on the size of the fillets.

Whisk together a quick vinaigrette with 4 tablespoons olive oil, 2 tablespoons of the plum vinegar, a tablespoon of Dijon, a few drops of sriracha, salt and pepper to taste.

To assemble:

Pile the warm cabbage on a plate, lean the fish against it, lay alternating slices of turnip and potato against the fish.  Drizzle with the vinaigrette, top with the crispy prosciutto.

A nice weeknight wine with this meal is a 2009 Ruffino Orvieto.  $11 at Whole Foods.

Playlist included Bring the Light, by Liam Gallagher’s new project, Beady Eye.