Comfort food for cold winter evenings

Sustainable wild Alaska Pacific cod tastes delicious on a bed of puy lentils and roasted vegetables, for a comforting winter warmer. Simply roast chunks of butternut squash, carrots and leeks, add stewed puy lentils and sun-blushed tomatoes, and place fillets of wild Alaska Pacific cod on top. Serve straight out of the oven after just 15 minutes to warm up those cold winter evenings.

Swimming wild throughout the Gulf of Alaska, Bering Sea and Aleutian islands, one of the most popular North Pacific groundfish, wild Alaska Pacific cod is the highest-quality cod available.

With its slightly sweet flavour, moist and firm texture, and a distinctive large flake, wild Alaska Pacific cod is suitable for most cooking methods – roasting, poaching, light frying or deep frying for fish and chips, and is also perfectly complemented by a wide array of sauces, herbs, spices and coatings.

All Alaska Seafood is wild and sustainable, responsibly managed for continuing abundance. Alaska seafood is high in protein and calcium, low in cholesterol and high in Omega-3 oils, which, as part of a balanced diet, may help to maintain a healthy heart.

Roast Wild Alaska Pacific Cod on Puy Lentils

Serves: 2
300g (10oz) butternut squash, cut into 2cm (¾ inch) cubes
2 carrots, sliced
1 red onion, sliced into wedges
1 leek, sliced
2 tbsp olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
150g (6oz) puy lentils, rinsed and drained
2 tsp vegetable stock powder (or ½ vegetable stock cube)
100g (4oz) sun-blush tomatoes in olive oil, roughly chopped
2 x 100-150g (4-6oz) fillets wild Alaska Pacific cod

- Preheat the oven to 200°C / fan oven 180°C / Gas Mark 6

- Put the butternut squash, carrots, red onion and leek into a roasting pan. Add the olive oil, season with salt and pepper and toss together. Roast in the oven for 25-30 minutes, until the vegetables are tender

- Meanwhile, put the lentils into a saucepan and cover them with twice their volume of water. Add the stock powder or cube, bring up to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer, uncovered, for 15-20 minutes, until tender. Drain well

- Add the lentils and sun-blush tomatoes to the roasted vegetables, stirring them through gently. Arrange the cod fillets on top and drizzle them with a little olive oil (use oil from the jar of sun-blush tomatoes to give them extra flavour). Cover the roasting pan with a piece of foil and return to the oven to bake for a further 12-15 minutes, or until the fish is cooked. The flesh will be opaque and should flake easily when tested with a fork. Serve

Cook’s tips: Serve with a dressed green salad and plenty of fresh, crusty bread. You can prepare ahead up to the point where the fish is arranged on top – then just cover with foil and refrigerate. Remember to cook for a little longer to ensure that everything is piping hot.