* With Romesco Sauce 2.0 - Recipe is from "Spain And The World Table" from the CIA (the Culinary Institute of America, not the spy group :P)

The recipe itself is actually "Hazelnut-Crusted Halibut With Spicy Romesco" but I went with almonds instead...frankly, this would work for just about any firm white fish.

For the Spicy Romesco:

1 ancho pepper (skipped/didn't have - but I did have a jar of leftover pureed roasted red pepper, about 1 cup)
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1/2 small jalapeno, stemmed and seeded (didn't use, but did add in 1/2 tsp cayenne plus 1/2 tsp Aleppo pepper)
2 cloves fresh garlic, peeled
2 1/2 tablespoons hazelnuts, toasted and skinned (went with almonds...did -not- toast them, next time I will do that to give the romesco a bit more depth.)
Small handful of fresh parsley, finely chopped
2 small slices focaccia herb bread or other bread pan fried in olive oil (skipped, used seasoned breadcrumbs instead)
1 medium plum tomato, chopped (more like a handful of chopped cherry tomatoes)
1/2 teaspoon red wine vinegar - here, I disagree - more like, 1 teaspoon sherry wine vinegar, its more authentic.
salt and pepper to taste (skipped the salt, you don't need it and you won't miss it, trust me :B)

For the Spinach (the actual recipe calls for kale, but...a leafy veg is a leafy veg is a leafy veg :P)

1 package baby spinach, rinsed and drained
1 large shallot, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 - 2 tablespoons olive oil
fresh cracked pepper

For the Cod: (Or halibut, for the hell of it :P)

Four six-ounce halibut filets (in this case, 2 - 3 filets of cod)
salt and white pepper
1/4 cup Mayonnaise
1/2 cup ground toasted hazelnuts (used the rest of the almonds)

For the Polenta:

1 tube pre-made polenta (pre-made corn meal - look for it in your 'Italian' section of your grocery and if not, you can always make this with regular corn meal like "masa" for Mexican cooking...even grits would work!)
1 - 2 tsp olive oil
fresh grated Parmesan
salt and pepper to taste

This *does* take a good bit of prep to cook and make, but as long as you get that done ahead of time, it all comes together quickly.

First, preheat your oven to 400F

Then start the romesco:

Get a medium size bowl, as is...

Then use a hand chopper or mini-blender, and chop the nuts with a teaspoon of olive oil, to a chunky consistency, and then put them in the bowl

Then chop / puree the garlic to a paste, along with the tomatoes, stir in with the pureed red pepper

Add in the cayenne / Aleppo / jalapeno pepper, finely chopped

Stir with the sherry vinegar, bread crumbs until you have a thick consistency

Add in the fresh chopped parsley, stir and then cover the bowl and leave in your refrigerator to rest and let the flavors develop. If you want to cook this instead, use a small saucepan and leave it to simmer, covered - and use the parsley at the end - but, this is a sauce that's best meant to be used cold.

For the kale / spinach - just use a large saucepan or nonstick wok...

coat with oil, get to medium high on your burner...

throw in the garlic and shallot and cook until translucent...

toss in ALL of your spinach from the package. It might look like it's overflowing, but keep in mind that will all cook down, so turn down the heat to low and toss the spinach around a few times while you have a cover over it. (The extra water that's naturally inside the spinach will help it to 'steam')

Once its done, just turn the heat off and leave it covered. It'll still be hot by the time you put it all together!

Whew...let's see, what else...

For the polenta:

You need either a grill pan (or even a Foreman grill, one or the other) and coat that with 1 tablespoon olive oil - get to a medium heat since a grill pan will heat up VERY quickly!

Open the package of polenta, cut into small rounds - they need only 5 - 7 minutes, if that, to cook and get the grill marks you are looking for. It'll take time, but no rush since by now your oven will be ready for the fish.

For the cod:

Oil a baking dish (I used a cookie sheet covered with foil, and brushed with oil - either way works)

Season the fish with salt and pepper on both sides, then coat with the mayonnaise

Coat the fish with the rest of your chopped hazelnuts (or almonds)

Bake for 5 -7 minutes, until it turns white and flaky - and by then the polenta is ready!

I used a large baking dish to put together the fish with the spinach (as seen above) and for the polenta, any kind of large dish is fine and you can grate some fresh Parm right on top, along with a good drizzle of olive oil (it's an Italian thing, don't knock it :P)

And as for the romesco - just take that out of the fridge or, as stated previously, take off from the stove and add in the fresh parsley at the end, and put that right on the cod...

Yeah, this is a labor of love but its very, VERY good.

Enjoy!