Tender white fish made with a garlic-infused oil. Whisking the leftover collagen traces from the fish with the garlic oil allows the sauce to emulsify and thicken.
Thaw cod filets if using frozen. Pat the filets dry with paper towels and salt both sides with kosher salt. Set aside for 20 minutes.
4 5-ounce Cod filets, 2 tablespoons kosher salt
Thinly slice garlic and jalpeno. Heat oil over medium heat and add garlic. Sauté garlic until golden brown (30 seconds to a minute) and then remove to a plate and set aside.
6 cloves garlic, 1 large jalapeno, 3/4 cup olive oil
Using tongs or spatula, place cod filets in heated oil in skillet and cook about 2 minutes. Turn filets and cook another 2 minutes on the flip side. Remove to a plate and set aside (it will keep cooking a bit on the plate).
Turn the heat off and add the garlic and jalapenos (and chile powder if using) to the oil. Start whisking the oil and the traces of white collagen left from the fish with small whisk or a small sifter (or use immersion blender once cooled a bit). Whisk/stir until emulsified to desired thickness. It can be anywhere from a thin oil to a thickness of mayonnaise.
1/2 teaspoon powdered chile pepper
Plate the fish filets and pour the garlic-jalapeno oil over the fish. Garnish with chopped parsley. Serve with crusty bread to sop up the oil.
1/4 cup parsley
Notes
OTHER USES FOR PIL PIL SAUCE:The sauce invariably accompanies seafood. Although cod or halibut is the traditional way to get the emulsified pil pil sauce, I have seen recipes for tapas using prawns or scallops.With the recipes that use scallops and/or prawns, the sauce is often thin and is more of a garlic-infused oil rather than an emulsification.**Want more like this? Subscribe to ourSunday newsletterto get recipes, gardening guides and diet help. Let’s go from Inspiration to Done!