soy glazed cod with zucchini

i can't believe i paid $1.75 for 2 zucchinis. correction: i can't believe i paid for zucchini.

last summer i made the critical i-just-bought-a-house-and-i'm-super-excited-to-have-a-garden mistake and planted six - yes, six - zucchini plants. and for about three months i was picking zucchinis every day, sometimes five at a time. until finally, there was a frost. and i gave up and declared zucchini season over (by stomping on the plants). all in all, i picked about 200 of those suckers. i had so many i couldn't give them away. my coworkers knew not to buy zucchinis because in the next day or two, i'd bring in another pile.

so jason was a little shocked when he asked me what his list was when we went to the grocery store. he didn't say a word when i asked him for two zucchinis - and the only response when he came back with them - "can you imagine if we got $1 for every zucchini we grew last summer?! we'd be rich!!!"

i should have passed on them. don't get me wrong, sauteed zucchini is a perfectly good side. it's just that those from the store aren't ever as good as the ones grown in your own yard. but since i just planted my zucchini plants on monday, i settled with the store.

but enough about the zucchini, the fish is the star of this dish. light and flaky, perfectly cooked in 7 minutes, and with a sweet glaze, it was the perfect dinner for an evening that finally felt like summer!

soy glazed cod with sauteed zucchini
adapted from real simple, june 2010
20 minutes start to finish, 2 generous servings

2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon soy sauce
2 teaspoons grated ginger (i used my microplane)
2 six ounce fillets cod or other white fish
2 small zucchinis, thinly sliced
canola oil
salt, pepper, crushed red pepper

1. heat broiler (set oven to 500F). line a baking sheet with aluminum foil.
2. combine the brown sugar, soy sauce, and ginger in a bowl and set aside.
3. heat a saute pan over medium heat. add ~1 teaspoon canola oil and the zucchinis. saute for about 10 minutes, or until softened. season with salt, pepper, and a little crushed red pepper flakes.
4. while the zucchini is sauteing, place the fish on the foil lined sheet. drizzle with canola oil.
5. broil the fish for about 5 minutes. spread about half of the glaze over the fish. broil another minute, add the remainder of the glaze, and broil one more minute (for a total of 7). check to ensure fish is done - it should be opaque and flaky.
6. serve the fish with a side of zucchini.