This baked lingcod is cooked until tender and served with a tomato caper sauce. Prepare the sauce ahead of time for a quick and easy dinner!
This summer, we've been eating all the fish!
Really, it's been the summer of fantastic fish here.
We signed up for a community supported fishery, and have been enjoying so much seafood!
There's been teriyaki sablefish, sweet chili sablefish, broiled cod, broiled halibut, and halibut tacos.
Recently, we had the extra-special treat of enjoying some Alaska lingcod.
What Is Alaska Lingcod?
Alaska lingcod is a type of greenling, a bottom-dwelling fish.
And despite the name, it is neither a type of ling fish nor a type of cod.
It's a mildly flavored white fish, with a dense consistency similar to halibut. Lingcod has a little more flavor than halibut, but it's still pretty mild.
What If I Can't Find Lingcod?
No lingcod?
You can swap the fish in this recipe for halibut, cod, or any other dense white fish.
Looking for more white fish recipes? Try these: cod Reuben, spiced cod with sweet potato mash, cod pumpkin curry, cod with bourbon sauce, halibut salad with bourbon dressing, pan-seared halibut, and fish meunière (fish in butter sauce).
How to Make Tomato Caper Sauce for the Baked Lingcod
This tomato sauce can be made with both canned and fresh tomatoes, so you can make this dish year-round.
While the sauce doesn't take a long time to cook, know that it can be prepared ahead of time, refrigerated, and then reheated when you're ready to cook the fish.
Start by cooking a diced onion until it's tender in heavy-bottom pan. I used a Lodge enameled cast-iron Dutch oven.
Add capers and diced garlic.
Cook until the garlic becomes fragrant (about a minute or two).
Next, add the tomatoes (either canned or freshly diced), salt, and herbs, and simmer over medium-low heat until the sauce thickens.
How to Cook Baked Lingcod
Place the lingcod in an oiled, oven-safe pan. I use a Lodge 12" carbon steel skillet.
You could also use a sheet-pan or casserole dish instead.
Top the fish with slices of lemon.
Cover the pan with foil, and bake eight minutes per one-inch thickness.
The fish is done when it's tender and easily pierced with a fork.
Serve the lingcod right away along with the tomato caper sauce and a side of freshly cooked pasta.
Pair it with garlic cauliflower mash (or Instant Pot cauliflower mash) for a low-carb, gluten-free side.
This recipe was adapted from a halibut recipe in New York Times Cooking.
Baked Lingcod with Tomato Caper Sauce
Ingredients
Tomato Caper Sauce:
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 onion, diced
- 2 garlic cloves, finely diced
- 1 tablespoon capers or use diced Kalamata olives
- 14 ounce can diced tomatoes or 1 lb fresh tomatoes, cored + diced
- ½ teaspoon fresh thyme, removed from stems ¼ tsp dried thyme
Lingcod:
- 1 tablespoon olive oil, divided
- 8 ounces lingcod (2 fillets) Or swap halibut, cod, or another dense white fish
- ⅛ teaspoon sea salt
- ¼ lemon (4 thin slices)
Instructions
Tomato Caper Sauce:
- Add oil to a heavy saucepan over medium heat. Add diced onions and cook 3-5 minutes, or until the onions are tender.Add garlic and capers. Cook 1-2 more minutes, or until garlic is fragrant.
- Add tomatoes, salt, and thyme. Lower heat to medium-low, and simmer for about 10 minutes or until the sauce is thickened. (If your tomatoes are especially juicy, they may take a few minutes longer to cook.)Cover sauce to keep warm.Optionally, prepare the sauce up to 3-4 days ahead of time, and rewarm before serving.
Baked Lingcod:
- Preheat oven to 450°F.Brush an oven-safe pan with half the oil. Alternatively, use a baking sheet or casserole dish.Set the lingcod in the pan. Drizzle remaining oil over fish and sprinkle with salt. Cover the lingcod in lemon slices.
- Cover pan with foil, and bake 8 minutes per 1" thickness. The fish is done when tender and easily pierced by a fork.Note that thinner fillets of fish will cook more quickly, so take care to note the thickness of the fillets.
- Serve the lingcod right away along with the tomato caper sauce.Any extra sauce can be used to top side dishes (such as rice, pasta, or cauliflower rice).
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