Prosciutto-Wrapped Cod with Crispy Polenta and Roasted Red Pepper Relish
By Joe GitterPublished on August 25, 2025
Time
1 hour
Yield
Serves 4
Ingredients
Before You Begin
Do not season the cod with salt before wrapping with the prosciutto; the briny capers and salty prosciutto add plenty of salt to the dish. Black sea bass, haddock, hake, and pollock make good substitutions for the cod. You will need a 12‐inch ovensafe nonstick skillet for this recipe.
Instructions
- Adjust oven rack to upper-middle position and heat oven to 450 degrees. Pat 4 (6- to 8‐ounce) skinless cod fillets dry with paper towels and sprinkle with ⅛ teaspoon pepper. For each fillet, shingle 2 thin prosciutto slices on cutting board, overlapping edges slightly. Lay fillet in center, then wrap prosciutto around cod; set aside.
- Line large plate with paper towels. Heat 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil in 12‐inch ovensafe nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add cooked polenta slices and cook until golden brown, 3 to 5 minutes per side. Transfer to prepared plate.
- Heat 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil in now-empty skillet over medium-high heat until just smoking. Add 3 stemmed, seeded, and chopped red bell peppers and cook, without moving, until charred on first side, 3 to 4 minutes. Toss peppers and continue to cook until softened, about 2 minutes. Transfer peppers to bowl; add 1 thinly sliced shallot, 4 teaspoons sherry vinegar, 1 tablespoon rinsed capers, ⅛ teaspoon table salt, and remaining ⅛ teaspoon pepper and toss to combine; set aside. Wipe skillet clean with paper towels.
- Heat 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil in again-empty skillet over medium-high heat until just smoking. Add prosciutto-wrapped cod and cook until lightly browned, about 2 minutes per side. Arrange polenta slices around cod so they rest against skillet walls. Transfer skillet to oven and roast until cod registers 135 degrees, 6 to 9 minutes. Add ½ cup fresh parsley leaves and remaining 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil to pepper mixture and toss to combine. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve cod with polenta and pepper relish.
Time
1 hourYield
Serves 4Ingredients
Ingredients
Ingredients
Why This Recipe Works
There are several moving parts to this elegant meal, one that looks way more complicated to make than it really is, thanks to the way we press our nonstick skillet into service and the use of a convenient supermarket tube of cooked polenta. We heat the oil in the skillet until smoking hot and then quickly sear the polenta slices, creating crunchy golden disks with a creamy interior—no need to make polenta ourselves. Then we char red bell pepper slices so that they’re softened into a complex smoky-sweet relish component and add a kick with sherry vinegar, briny capers, and parsley leaves. Now we are ready to tackle cooking the cod, and here we use the classic pan-roasting method, which takes the fish from stovetop to oven. We have wrapped the fillets in prosciutto to sear in the hot skillet, which not only infuses the fish with the prosciutto’s salty pork flavor but makes the fillets appealingly crisp while insulating the fish from overcooking, keeping it supermoist. We arrange the polenta slices around the edge of the skillet walls so that they can rewarm in the oven while the cod roasts to moist perfection.
Before You Begin
Do not season the cod with salt before wrapping with the prosciutto; the briny capers and salty prosciutto add plenty of salt to the dish. Black sea bass, haddock, hake, and pollock make good substitutions for the cod. You will need a 12‐inch ovensafe nonstick skillet for this recipe.
Instructions
- Adjust oven rack to upper-middle position and heat oven to 450 degrees. Pat 4 (6- to 8‐ounce) skinless cod fillets dry with paper towels and sprinkle with ⅛ teaspoon pepper. For each fillet, shingle 2 thin prosciutto slices on cutting board, overlapping edges slightly. Lay fillet in center, then wrap prosciutto around cod; set aside.
- Line large plate with paper towels. Heat 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil in 12‐inch ovensafe nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add cooked polenta slices and cook until golden brown, 3 to 5 minutes per side. Transfer to prepared plate.
- Heat 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil in now-empty skillet over medium-high heat until just smoking. Add 3 stemmed, seeded, and chopped red bell peppers and cook, without moving, until charred on first side, 3 to 4 minutes. Toss peppers and continue to cook until softened, about 2 minutes. Transfer peppers to bowl; add 1 thinly sliced shallot, 4 teaspoons sherry vinegar, 1 tablespoon rinsed capers, ⅛ teaspoon table salt, and remaining ⅛ teaspoon pepper and toss to combine; set aside. Wipe skillet clean with paper towels.
- Heat 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil in again-empty skillet over medium-high heat until just smoking. Add prosciutto-wrapped cod and cook until lightly browned, about 2 minutes per side. Arrange polenta slices around cod so they rest against skillet walls. Transfer skillet to oven and roast until cod registers 135 degrees, 6 to 9 minutes. Add ½ cup fresh parsley leaves and remaining 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil to pepper mixture and toss to combine. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve cod with polenta and pepper relish.
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