This past weekend I had the pleasure of my friend Tony coming to visit, and we had such a great time! We worked together several years ago, and now he owns two stores in Dallas, so we deal with a lot of the same things on a daily basis – you know, just “store owner” stuff.
He’s great to bounce ideas off of, we encourage one another… and we laugh A LOT when we’re together. I think everyone needs a friend that “gets” their sense of humor, and I’m blessed that I have that friend in Tony! A weekend full of inside jokes, drinking wine and lounging on the sofa was exactly what I needed (and I think he did too).
Since he took the weekend off to make the trip (to fight the 30-40 mph winds of West Texas), I wanted to make him something special for dinner on Saturday. I decided to go with a Heart of Palm Salad and this Salted Cod dish for three reasons – it’s easy, fresh and delicious!
Salted Cod with Corn and Clams (serves 2)
2 skinless, center-cut 6 oz. cod fillets
1 cup kosher salt
2 ears of corn, shucked
half a lemon
4 T. extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup flour (for dusting)
12 littleneck clams, scrubbed
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
1 T. butter
1 sprig fresh thyme
2 sprigs cilantro
2 cups dry white wine
freshly ground black pepper
1 T. chopped cilantro, for garnish
Sliced artisan bread, for serving
Completely cover each cod fillet with kosher salt and let sit for exactly 10 minutes.
While the cod is getting nice and salty, bring a medium pot of water to a boil and add the corn. Cook until the corn is done (it will have a nice dark golden color). Remove the corn and let cool enough to cut the kernels off the cob, set aside.
Rinse off the salt and pat dry. Using the flour, lightly dust the fish. Add the olive oil to a large nonstick skillet over med-high heat and add the fish (skinned-side down first). Cook the fish approximately 5 minutes, then flip and cook for another 2 minutes or so. Add the garlic, clams, cilantro springs, and thyme sprig to the skillet. Season with black pepper and add white wine. The original recipe called for only 1 cup of wine, but I’ve made this dish a few times and always 
find myself wanting more sauce to dip the bread in… so I use at least 2 cups of wine to start with. Cover the skillet and cook until the clams open, around 7 minutes.
While the clams are steaming, bring a small skillet to med-high heat and melt the butter. Add the corn and stir until heated through.
Once the clams are steamed, discard the herb sprigs and any clams that do not open.
Divide the corn between two large bowls, add the fish, clams, and a generous helping of the sauce. Garnish with chopped cilantro and serve with crusty bread. Enjoy!
This is such a great dish for getting into the warmer weather! Enjoy!
Recipe adapted from July 2011 Food & Wine – 10 Minute Salted Cod
