Oven Roasted Cod with Calabrian Chili Butter Sauce

Why You’ll Love this Recipe

• A great way to elevate oven roasted cod!
• The silky beurre blanc has a nice kick of heat from the Calabrian chili paste, but can easily be adjusted if you like a more mild heat level.
• Preparation is simple and easy.
• Oven roasting cod results in perfectly cooked flaky fish every time!

Why Oven-Roast Cod

Roasting cod is as simple as it gets, as this fish is forgiving and very clean tasting. Cod is also easy to find in grocery stores and relatively inexpensive. We add minimal seasoning to the fish and let the oven do the work. Oven-roasting fish is the best hands-off method for perfectly cooked fish without the hassle. You can really season the fish as much or as little as you want when using this cooking method. We like a simple seasoning for this recipe with sal and pepper, dried thyme and sweet paprika. But there are endless options when roasting fish! 

Butter Sauce

But the magic in this recipe really is in the sauce. Based on a classic French beurre blanc, this butter sauce adds an important Italian twist, specifically Calabrian Chili peppers. Calabrian chili paste is made from Calabrian chilies and adds a ton of flavor and just a bit of heat to go with the rich butter sauce and perfectly roasted fish. We love making butter sauces like this, and have a variety of unique butter sauces on our blog, such as Miso Butter Sauce and White Wine Lemon Butter Sauce.

Ingredients

Here is what you need to make this recipe:

• Cod fillets: The thicker cod loin fish fillets work best for roasting (about 1 ½ - 2” thick).
• Olive Oil: Used to coat the fish as well as to start the sauce
• Kosher Salt and Black Pepper: Used to season and flavor the fish
• Dried Thyme: Although subtle in the end, this is a great ingredient for the roasted cod
• Sweet Paprika: Another subtle flavor for the fish, paprika also adds some beautiful color
• Black Peppercorns: We toast whole peppercorns to add flavor without adding the speckled black color to the butter sauce
• Shallot: For the base of the sauce, the shallot is sauteed in a small amount of olive oil
• Lemon Zest: This helps brighten up the sauce and adds a very subtle lemon flavor
• White Wine: Dry white wines are best and a Sauvignon Blanc or Pinot Grigio are perfect here
• Lemon Juice: The balancing acidity is achieved with just a touch of lemon juice
• Unsalted Butter: The star of the sauce!
• Calabrian Chili Paste: The flavor and spice is a wonderful addition in this recipe. 

See recipe card below for quantities.

Substitutions

Here are a couple of common substitutions for the ingredients in this recipe:

• Cod: Any firm white fish fillet will work here. Halibut and Sea Bass are both great options, but are both usually more expensive as well. Really any fish would work well, including mahi mahi, pollack, and even salmon would be a good option.
• Lemon: We have had equally great results by substituting lime or grapefruit (both the zest and juice) for the lemon. You could also mix and match.

How to Make Oven Roasted Cod with Calabrian Chili Butter Sauce

This simple dish starts with roasting the cod. While it cooks, you can prepare the sauce so everything is ready at the same time.

Equipment

Here is what you need to make this dish

• Baking dish, sheet pan or roasting pan
• Tongs
• Stainless steel pan, or shallow saucepan
• Fine mesh strainer
• Whisk
• Instant read thermometer

Step-by-Step Instructions

Prepare the Fish

• Dry the fish well with paper towels, put it on a wire rack over a sheet tray and place in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to an hour. Remove them from the refrigerator and coat each piece of fish with olive oil. Sprinkle with kosher salt and pepper, dried thyme, and paprika. Place the fish in a baking dish, roasting pan, or sheet tray.

Roast the Fish

• Preheat the oven to 375°F. When the oven is ready, place the dish with the seasoned fish in the hot oven and roast the fish for 20 minutes (or until the fish reads 145°F internal temperature). The fish should be somewhat flaky, not chewy at all, but not dried out. 

Start the Sauce

• Place a sauce pan over medium heat, then add the peppercorns. Toast the peppercorns for a minute or two, then add the olive oil and shallots. Cook until the shallots are opaque, but not browned. Add the lemon zest and white wine and stir. Cook for a minute or so and then strain the mixture through a fine mesh sieve into a small bowl, pressing on the solids to extract all of the liquid. Discard the solids.

Finish the Sauce

• Wipe the saucepan down to remove any solids left behind. Return the strained liquid to the pan and cook on medium to medium-low heat until the bubbles get bigger and you have about 2 Tablespoons of liquid left. Then, add the lemon juice and a pinch of kosher salt. Remove from the heat and wait 30 seconds. Whisk in the cold butter 1 piece at a time. Continue adding the butter until it is fully incorporated. If the pan gets too cold to melt the butter, put the pan back over low heat for a minute and continue the process. Remove the pan from the heat if at all possible so as not to make the sauce too hot or it will separate. Once the butter is incorporated, add the Calabrian chili paste and whisk. Taste for seasoning and adjust as needed.

Serve

• Plate the fish and drizzle with the butter sauce and serve with crusty bread or your favorite side like the Sautéed White Beans pictured.

Variations

Here are a couple ways to change up this recipe:

• Use a different wine! A rosé or sparkling wine will slightly change the flavor of the sauce for a subtle twist. For a more unique change, use a dry red wine (pinot noir) in the sauce. This will significantly deepen the color of the sauce and change the flavor but it’s a nice change-up.
• Change the seasoning of the fish to green pepper instead of black, oregano or sage instead of thyme, and smoked or hot paprika instead of sweet.
• Turn up the heat! If you want this dish to be even spicier, use more of the Calabrian chili paste.

Storage

How to store leftover Cod with Calabrian chili sauce:

• Store leftover cod in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 2-3 days.

How to reheat leftover cod:

• A 325°F oven is the best way to reheat leftover cod. It can also be done in a pan over low+ heat covered. The sauce generally won't have the same texture when reheated and will break, but the flavor will still be there.

Can you freeze leftover cod?

• The cod will definitely lose some texture and flavor, but it can be done. Ensure it cools down before wrapping in plastic wrap and a freezer bag. If you are using pre-frozen cod fillets, you should not refreeze leftovers, but you can freeze leftovers if using fresh cod fillets.

Troubleshooting

The most common issue when making butter sauces is adding the butter to a pan that is too hot. This will cause the sauce to break and it may be hard to recover. Ensure your pan cools for about 30 seconds before adding the butter and that the butter is cold and you shouldn’t have an issue.

What to serve with this Oven Roasted Cod

You’ll have a bit of extra sauce, so it’s best to serve the cod with something neutral that you can flavor with the butter sauce. Rice is a great option. Throw in some green vegetables, such as snow peas, broccoli, or wilted spinach and it’s perfect! This cod also pairs very well with our Sautéed White Bean dish.

What Wines To Drink with Oven Roasted Cod with Calabrian Chili Butter Sauce

Any dry white wine go perfectly with this dish so pick your favorite! We love an Italian Pinot Grigio with this fish.