Ingredients

• 4 black cod fillets
• about 150–200g/5½–7oz each
• pin-boned
• 4 stalks hajikami or 50g/1¾oz pickled ginger
• to serve
• 50g/1¾oz lotus root or taro chips
• to serve
• optional
• 50ml/2fl oz sake
• 100ml/3½fl oz mirin
• 400g/14oz white miso paste
• 125g/4½oz caster sugar
• 200ml/7fl oz dashi stock or fish stock
• 2 tbsp dark soy sauce
• 1 tbsp caster sugar
• 500g/1lb 2oz large leaf spinach
• 50g/1¾oz sesame seeds

Directions

• To make the saikyo miso
• put the sake
• mirin
• miso paste and sugar in a medium saucepan and bring to the boil over a high heat. Cook for a few minutes
• until the sugar has dissolved. Leave to cool to room temperature.
• Put the cod in a bowl and cover with the saikyo miso (reserving a little to garnish). Cover and leave to marinate at room temperature for 2–3 hours.
• When you're ready to cook the cod
• preheat the oven to 220C/200C Fan/Gas 7. Heat an ovenproof frying pan over a medium heat. Lift the fish fillets out of the marinade and cook them skin side-down in the pan for 2 minutes. Turn the fish over and roast in the oven for 6–8 minutes
• or until cooked through and blackened.
• Meanwhile
• for the sesame spinach
• bring the dashi stock to the boil in a large saucepan and add the soy sauce and sugar. Once the sugar has dissolved
• add the spinach
• stir and turn off the heat. Toast the sesame seeds in a dry frying pan until golden
• then crush using a mortar and pestle. Drain the spinach
• reserving the liquid
• and squeeze out any excess moisture. Mix the spinach with almost all the toasted seeds and a little of the cooking liquor.
• To serve
• gather the spinach into a ball and top with the remaining sesame seeds. Serve with the cod and hajikami
• with a few drops of the reserved saikyo miso on each plate.