Cashew Crusted Cod

When I hear cod, I think fish and chips. When Fairb was in graduate school, we lived in a tiny flat in central London. We had two babies in a tiny one bedroom place. While we were there, to my surprise, I got pregnant again. I was still nursing Alta, and the only way I knew I was pregnant was that I was starting my famous barfs. I can't go any where near a kitchen when I am pregnant sick (it makes me shutter just reliving it!), so down the street there was a very authentic fish and chips place, so the family at a lot of greasy fish and chips.  Oddly enough, I have warm memories of that greasy place. Usually pregnancy kills a restaurant in my heart (You couldn't pay me to eat at Cafe Rio) but I would still return to that fish and chips place if I ever returned to Bloomsbury (yes, like in peter pan).

Tonight I made cod for the first time, but instead of fish and chips style, I crusted it in cashews, pan fried it and served it with rice.

Cashew Crusted Cod

2 cod fillets

handful of roasted cashews

handful of butter crackers (ritz, town house)

2 eggs beaten

fresh ground pepper

fresh lemon 

3 T butter

3 T olive oil

Take the cashews and crackers and blend them together in the blender, till it resembles bread crumbs. Pour onto a plate. Pour beaten eggs onto a plate. Heat a large skillet on medium heat with a lid and add the oil and butter. Cut the cod into portions. Dip into the egg and season with fresh ground pepper (you don't need salt because the crackers and nuts have salt) then roll into the cracker nut crumbs. Add to the skillet. Once all the fillets are in the pan, cover, cook for about 3 min then flip. Cook until fish flakes with a fork, taking great caution to not over cook because cod will dry out quick! Finish the fish with a squeeze of fresh lemon.