« Dos » de cabillaud au beurre blanc

Cabillaud [kah-bee-yoh] is French for cod or codfish. Dos [doh] is "the back" as in "dorsal" — but what is the dorsal part of the codfish called in English? Some translations I've seen just call it the fillet or filet. Others call it the "cod loin" or cod loin filet. It's a thick slab of white fish flesh that is boneless and easy to cook. It's not necessarily easy to get the cod filet out of the pan that you've cooked it in, however. It tends to fall apart when it's cooked.

In one of Jacques Pépin's books, Happy Cooking! (1994), there's a recipe for "codfish flakes" — Jacques writes that he likes scrod, haddock, and pollock but his favorite member of this family of fishes is cod, especially when it is presented in thick, heavy white fillets. "Cod fillets tend to separate into beautiful flakes as they cook," he adds.

I decided to cook the dos de cabillaud in a steamer. First I steamed some little potatoes and some broccoli florets. I kept them in a warm oven while the fish steamed.

To flavor the fish and vegetables, I made what is called un beurre blanc — a butter sauce made with white wine, either vinegar or lemon juice, butter, and fresh herbs (parsley or tarragon). I added capers this time. There's a recipe for beurre blanc in this post of mine from a few years ago.