Recipe: Baked Cod with Tomatoes, Zucchini and Lemons

BAKED COD WITH TOMATOES, ZUCCHINI AND LEMONS

3 medium yellow onions, thinly sliced*
6 tablespoons good olive oil
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper (to taste)
3 pounds cod fillets (or substitute scrod or halibut fillets)
2 medium blanched, peeled, thinly sliced tomatoes -- to 3 med tomatoes
3 small zucchini, thinly sliced*
1 cup light fish stock (or homemade or canned chicken stock)
1 cup dry white wine
2 lemons,- sliced paper thin*
1 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 cup fresh bread crumbs
2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

In an oven-proof baking dish, make a layer of onions on the bottom. Drizzle with half the oil and the thyme, and season with salt and pepper. Place the fish over the onions and layer the tomatoes and zucchini. Pour in the stock and wine to fill the dish halfway. Sprinkle the remaining oil and thyme on top. Cover with the lemon slices.

In a small skillet, melt the butter over medium heat and toast the bread crumbs until lightly golden. Mix with the parsley and season with salt and pepper. Dust the surface of the lemon slices with the bread crumbs.

Bake in the oven for 30 minutes or until the fish is opaque and slightly springy to the touch.

*For best results, rely on a vegetable slicer, or mandoline, for thin slices of onion and zucchini and sheets of lemon slices.

Makes 8 servings
Source: Lemons: A Country Garden Cookbook by Christopher Idone