Main dish

Lemon Cod and Basil Bean Mash recipe

Name: Lemon Cod and Basil Bean Mash
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 20 min
Yield: 2
Ingredients: 2 fillets cod; zest of lemon; 2 small bunches cherry tomatoes on the vine; 1 clove of garlic, peeled; 250g frozen broad beans; ½ can cannellini beans (the rest can be frozen to use next time); 1 handful basil; 100ml vegetable stock; juice of ½ lemon; salt and pepper; olive oil

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Lemony fish, garlic and basil broad bean mash and roasted cherry tomatoes make a great midweek dinner.

Prep5m
Cook15m
Total20m

fish quick

A plate of cod, basil bean mash and tomatoes

This BBC Good Food recipe ticks all of the boxes I'm looking for in a weeknight dinner: quick, nutritious and satisfying. I didn't have high expectations for the basil bean mash but it's great.

I've tweaked the recipe in a few ways: I roast the garlic so it's less pungent when added to the mash and I use broad beans instead of soya as they're easier to get hold of. Sometimes I use haddock or salmon instead of cod.

All the ingredients work together brilliantly and it needn't be too expensive if you use frozen fish.

Recipe

Lemon Cod and Basil Bean Mash

Prep5m
Cook15m
Total20m

Serves: 2

Ingredients

2 fillets cod
zest of lemon
2 small bunches cherry tomatoes on the vine
1 clove of garlic, peeled
250g frozen broad beans
½ can cannellini beans (the rest can be frozen to use next time)
1 handful basil
100ml vegetable stock
juice of ½ lemon
salt and pepper
olive oil

Method

Preheat the oven to 200°C (180°C fan). Fill and boil the kettle.
Place 2 fillets of fish onto a baking tray. Top with the zest from a lemon and some salt and pepper. Place 2 small bunches of cherry tomatoes and a peeled garlic clove next to the fish and drizzle everything with a little olive oil.
Bake in the oven for around 12 minutes (or around 18 minutes if using frozen fish). Check on the garlic clove while the fish is cooking. If it starts to brown, remove it from the oven.
While the fish is cooking, place a saucepan over a medium heat, pour in the boiled water and add 250g of frozen broad beans. Cook for 3 minutes then add ½ a can of drained cannellini beans. Cook for another minute or so until the beans are tender.
Separate a small bunch of basil leaves from their stalks and put a few of the leaves to one side. Remove the garlic clove from the oven if you haven't already.
Drain the cooked beans then add them to a food processor along with 100ml vegetable stock, the juice from ½ a lemon, a pinch of salt and pepper, the basil stalks and the majority of the leaves, and the roasted garlic clove. Pulse until everything combines into a chunky mash.
Once the fish has cooked through, remove from the oven, transfer everything to a plate and top with the remaining basil leaves.