After a long weekend in Northern California, enjoying my mom’s birthday and friend Suzanne’s beautiful wedding, I came home already missing the food that makes California such a unique place. While back home, we dined on fresh dungeness crab meat, seafood chowder, calamari, and giant shrimp scampi. Not all in one day though, don’t worry. Therefore when I got off the plane today and headed to the grocery store to fill up for the week, I went straight to the one and only fresh seafood market in our part of Montana.

©EverydayCookingAdventures 2013

I had this Jamie Oliver recipe saved for my blog someday so I pulled it out, shopped for all the ingredients, and tonight put the recipe to the test. The prep took about 5 minutes max and while it looked a little bit chaotic, I had a feeling +Jamie Oliver would not steer me wrong! While it baked in the oven I put together a nice, light side salad and in no time dinner was ready and on the table. So, so, so simple! Every ingredient somehow complemented the other and it was a perfectly satisfying meal. I loved the creamy sauce with the light fish and the savory cheese with the smooth avocado slices. Will make again, most definitely. Here’s my baked cod:

©EverydayCookingAdventures 2013

Baked Cod with Avocado, Shrimp, Cream and Cheese

From: Happy Days with the Naked Chef, Jamie Oliver, 2002
Serves 2

Ingredients:

• Extra virgin olive oil
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 – 8 oz. cod fillets, skinned and pin-boned
• 1 small handful of fresh basil, ripped
• 1 avocado, peeled, pitted, halved and sliced
• 4 oz. peeled shrimp, cooked or uncooked (about 1 handful of small bay shrimp)
• ½ cup heavy cream
• 2 oz. shredded cheddar cheese

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 425ºF. Rub a baking dish or roasting pan with a little olive oil, season the cod on both sides with salt and pepper and place in the dish. Add on top of the fillets the basil, avocado and shrimp. Drizzle over the cream and grate over the cheese.

2. Cook on the top rack of the preheated oven for 15-20 minutes until golden brown and bubbling. Season to taste with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper and serve simply with a green salad.