Baked Cod with Lemon Garlic Parsley Sauce - "A Trip to Greece" with Debbie Matenopoulos

Welcome to the "Trip to Greece" blog tour with Debbie Matenopoulos featuring her new cookbook, It's All Greek to Me!  What a treat this has been...and on so many levels!  Reading the cookbook brought back many memories of our trip to Greece last year, the wonderful foods we ate and the friendly people that we met.  We immediately loved the fresh and healthy food presented at each meal. And, that is what you can expect in the cookbook, It's All Greek to Me:  delicious recipes focused on fresh and healthy eating!

One thing that really resonated with me when I read through the cookbook was Debbie's outlook on food.  She says, "To Greeks, food is not just food.  It represents love.  It represents family. Sitting down to the table to eat is the time when friends and family come together to connect and share their day with one another..."  That philosophy parallels our approach to food and meals. There is always time to cook good food and to bring family and friends together to share a meal!  I am on-board!

The wide variety of recipes available in the cookbook make it easy to eat healthy and to eat well! There were so many that I wanted to try:

• Kolokithopites (Zucchini Fritters) sounds like a perfect appetizer, 
• Horiatki Salata (Greek Village Salad) looks as though it is packed with freshness and popping with flavor, 
• Gigantes (Greek Giant White Beans) that we became so fond of on our trip, and they are oh, so delicious, not to mention 
• Dessert Fruit Salad with honey and yogurt....yum...

What to make first!?

I selected Baked Cod with Lemon Garlic Parsley Sauce as my recipe to prepare.  Mr. T. and I were really excited to participate and since we just happened to be visiting a little fishing town on the coast, it was easy to find fresh fish!  We selected two lovely pieces of Rock Cod to prepare.

Baked Cod with Lemon Garlic Parsley Sauce

It's All Greek to Me by Debbie Matenopoulos

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
4 skinless cod fillets, 6 ounces each, rinsed and patted dry
1 teaspoon sea salt, plus more to taste
4 tablespoons lemon juice, divided (about 2 lemons)
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh Italian flat-leaf parsley
1 clove garlic, minced
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper (optional)

Preheat oven to 375° F.

Coat the bottom of a large oven-safe baking dish with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil.  Lay the cod fillets in the baking dish and season them with 1/2 teaspoon of the salt (1/8 teaspoon per fillet). Drizzle 2 tablespoons of the lemon juice over the fish.  Bake, uncovered, until the fish is opaque and easily flaked with a fork, about 15 minutes.  Be careful not to overcook the fish.

While the fish is baking, make the sauce.  In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the remaining 2 tablespoons of lemon juice, parsley, garlic, and lemon zest.  Slowly whisk in the remaining two tablespoons of olive oil and season with the remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt and the pepper (if using).

Serve the cod immediately on warmed dinner plates, with the sauce spooned evenly over each fillet.

Debbie is right.  This is a quick, healthy recipe.  The sauce is light and lemony and infuses the fish with a subtle garlic flavor.  This is my new way to prepare fish!

I was so happy to add this wonderful cookbook to my library.  It will be well used.  I am looking forward to preparing Zucchini Fritters served with Tzatziki next week....we will enjoy them with a crisp white wine and dream of blue seas, blue skies, great food and our wonderful trip to Greece.....

Debbie will be tweeting throughout the tour.  Use the hashtag #GreekSummer.  Here are her social media sites should you wish to connect with her:  Twitter, Facebook, Instagram.

I am sharing at Full Plate Thursday hosted by Miz Helen's Country Cottage and Foodie Friday hosted by Michael at Rattlebridge Farm.