Cod on ratatouille vegetables

Ingredients for 2 servings:

• 500 g cod fillet(s), as thick as possible
• 1 bell pepper(s), red
• 1 zucchini
• 1 small eggplant(s)
• 1 onion(s), red
• 2 garlic cloves
• 2 tomatoes
• 3 tbsp tomato paste
• 100 ml water or less if you want it to remain a little creamier
• Salt
• black pepper, freshly ground
• some olive oil
• ½ bunch thyme
• 12 green olives, pitted

Instructions

Working time approx. 20 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 55 minutes; Total time approx. 1 hour 15 minutes

steamed in the oven, suitable for low-carb diets

Wash and dry the bell pepper, zucchini, and eggplant. Peel and dry the onion. Dice everything. Peel and finely chop the garlic. I always chop the eggplant last, while the other ingredients are roasting, because it browns so quickly. Remove the stems from the tomatoes, deseed them, and dice them as well. Pluck about half of the thyme from the stems, leaving 4-5 nice stalks. Divide the cod into 2 portions, remove any bones, season with salt and pepper, and rub with a little olive oil. Set the fish aside for a while to come to room temperature. Mix the tomato paste with the water. Slice the olives. Preheat the oven to 200°C (top/bottom heat). Quickly fry the vegetables one after the other in about 1-2 teaspoons of olive oil each (the eggplant needs a little more oil) and let them brown slightly. This works best in an iron skillet. First, fry the zucchini, brown it, remove it, and place it in a bowl. Then fry the bell pepper, brown it lightly, remove it, and add it to the bowl. Then fry the eggplant cubes, brown them, sprinkle with the picked thyme until it smells good (this happens pretty quickly – don’t let it burn!), remove it, and add it to the bowl. Then significantly reduce the heat and briefly fry the diced onion until translucent, remove it, and add it to the bowl. Mix all the vegetables with the stirred tomato paste, the diced tomatoes, and the garlic, season with a little thyme, salt, and pepper, and place it in a small baking dish. The fish should just fit inside. Place the cod fillet on top of the vegetables, scatter the olive slices over it, and cover with the remaining thyme sprigs. Cover the casserole dish as tightly as possible with aluminum foil and bake the dish on the oven rack on the second rack from the bottom until the cod has reached an internal temperature of 54°C at its thickest point. For me, this took exactly 44 minutes (the fish was already 19°C when I inserted the thermometer). Remove the thyme sprigs. Fill the dish carefully so the delicate cod doesn’t fall apart. Arrange the fish next to or on top of the vegetables. Served as is, this is a delicious low-carb dish for two hungry people. However, it’s also delicious with some rice or baguette, which would feed three people. Serve with a fruity, cool, dry white wine or a chilled Beaujolais Primeur.