Steamed Cod Fish with Basil Ratatouille
Fish & Seafood · Let’s Eat the World · Main Course · Provencal Recipes · TasteEasy to prepare, cod is a white fish with a mild flavour that is perfect to pair with bright, colourful vegetables. This dish is an excellent addition to some rice or pasta or great served on its own. We made a traditional Provencal ratatouille as a side dish, the recipe is below. Enjoy the bright, lively flavours that are perfect for a summer evening.
For more seafood recipes join one of our cooking classes in Paris, Uzès or online.

Cod Fish Steamed in Spinach Leaves and Ratatouille
This is a quick and easy way to enjoy cod, a light white fish that is made for pairing with colourful vegetables! Enjoy it with rice, pasta, or zucchini noodles for a lighter version. The white wine cream sauce is so full of flavour, you'll be sure to bookmark the page to make it again!
Ingredients
- 2 fillets Cod boneless and skinless
- 10 large spinach
For the Ratatouille:
- 1 small yellow onion
- 1 small zucchini (courgette) green
- 1 small yellow zucchini (courgette) if no yellow, double green
- 1 small eggplant (aubergine)
- 1 garlic clove
- 1/2 Red Bell Pepper
- 10 Basil Leaves
- 1 tbsp herbes de Provence or 1 tsp dry thyme and 1 tsp oregano
- 3 tbsp Olive Oil
- 2 tomatoes
For the White Wine Sauce:
- 1 cup dry white wine
- 2 shallot(s)
- 1/2 cup whipping cream
- 1/4 cup butter
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Wash and clean your vegetables.
- Peel garlic, shallots, and onion.
- Dice the onion and mince the garlic.
- In a saucepan, over medium heat, add olive oil, garlic, Herbes de Provence, and onion. Cook gently, stirring often, so there is no colouration.
- In the meantime, cut the pepper into 1/4 inch pieces, add it into the saucepan, and continue stirring and cooking for 4 to 5 minutes. Do the same with the eggplant and zucchini, then add the tomatoes, salt, and pepper and cook covered over low heat for 20 minutes.
- Clean and de-nerve the spinach leaves. Boil a little bit of water with 1 tsp of sea salt, and blanch the spinach for 20 seconds. Drain and shock in ice water to keep them green. Remove from water and squeeze lightly to dry them up a little.
- Season the fish with salt and pepper, wrap each fillet with spinach leaves (5 each). Reserve in the fridge until ready to cook.
- Slice the basil leaves, add them to the ratatouille when cooked, stir well, and let infuse off of the heat.
- Mince the shallots and boil them with the wine in a saucepan until it has reduced to around 4 TBS, then add the cream, boil for 3 minutes and add butter, whisk well. Season with salt and pepper.
- Steam the fish for 4 to 5 minutes, or in the oven at 165ºC (320ºF) for 15 minutes with 2 tbsp of water in the pan covered with aluminum foil.
- Serve with hot ratatouille, place the fish on top, and cream sauce around. Use a few basil leaves as garnish.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
Other Cod and Monkfish Recipes
Cod with Tapenade Crust and Rosé Braised Fennel
This recipe has a few steps. However, as long as you prepare the fennel and black olive tapenade in advance, the cod takes no time to cook.
Check out this recipe
Roast Cod with a Lemon & Parsley Crust & Stuffed Courgette Flowers
The key ingredient for this recipe is the cod, but the dish is really brought to life by the lemon, garlic and cheese that are added to the fish topping and the stuffing for the flowers.
Check out this recipe
Roast Cod with Ratatouille and Tomato Coulis
Classic Provençal Ratatouille is bright and fresh served with crispy crusted cod, our catch of the day, and topped with a creamy tomato coulis. Dinner is served!
Check out this recipe
Monkfish with cream of peas ''a la Francaise''
Who doesn't love a good pea soup? Smokey bacon and a piece of fish make this a great appetizer.
Check out this recipe
Mediterranean Fish with a Vegetable Tian
A main course that is simple to prepare along with and a vegetable side dish.
Check out this recipe
Legal
All rights reserved. Perfectly Provence articles and other content may not be published, broadcast, rewritten (including translations into other languages) or redistributed without written permission. For usage information, please contact us.
Syndication InformationAffiliate Information
As an Amazon Associate, this website earns from qualifying purchases. Some recipes, posts and pages may have affiliate links. If you purchase via these links, we receive a small commission that does not impact your price. Thank you in advance for supporting our work to maintain Perfectly Provence.
Previous Post
Goat Cheese Stuffed Chicken and a Zoom DinnerRelated Provence Articles
French Seafood Ragout Recipe with Scallop and Lobster
November 23, 2022
We recently invited friends Lee and Barbara to dinner to celebrate Barbara’s birthday. For a friend new to our circle, it was a delight to make a special dinner as a birthday gift. And, as I have often said, the gift of food is definitely one that comes from the heart. I pored over my …
Easy Grilled Halibut and a Provencal Wine Pairing
October 14, 2022
The thing is, we weren’t planning on grilled halibut for dinner. But sometimes, that is how things go when you get to the grocery store, and they don’t have what you had planned. In most cases, that isn’t too complicated a switch, but for this meal, we had planned a cooking and wine pairing with …
Zucchini and Chèvre Tart with Moroccan Flavours
December 18, 2023
We travelled through Morocco with friends staying in unique and beautiful riads along the way. However, it was the first trip we’ve taken in almost 30 years that didn’t include working kitchens. Cooking with local ingredients is one of my joys when travelling, and on this trip, I learned I get kind of itchy and …
Sous Vide Poached Halibut in Butter a Lighter Recipe
July 28, 2023
Until recently, I had never poached anything solely in butter. When Provence WineZine friends Susan and Towny gave me some vanilla salt, I wanted to use it as a finishing salt for halibut poached in butter. I googled “butter poached halibut” and was alarmed to find that fully submerging four fillets required two pounds of …
No Comment