Chile-Lime Cod with Jicama, Radish, and Avocado Slaw
Thick cod fillets rubbed with chipotle and cumin and seared until the crust is dark, served over a cold slaw of matchstick jicama, sliced radish, avocado, and lime.
Why You'll Love This Recipe
Hot fish on a cold slaw is one of my favorite ways to eat, and this is the fastest version I make. The cod takes about six minutes total and the slaw is knife work you do while the pan heats, so the timing takes care of itself. Jicama is the ingredient that makes it worth doing. It stays crisp no matter how long it sits in lime juice, which is not true of cabbage or cucumber, and it has a clean sweetness that plays against a spice rub with real heat in it. If you have walked past it in the store because you did not know what to do with it, this is the answer.
The rub is three things and it does a lot of work. Chipotle powder brings smoke and a slow heat that builds rather than hits, cumin gives it earthiness, and salt pulls just enough moisture to the surface for a crust to form. Cod is a mild, large-flaked fish and it takes seasoning like this without disappearing under it. What you want in the pan is a dark, matte crust and a fillet that has gone from translucent to opaque through the middle, which happens quickly. Pull it at the point where the center still looks barely underdone and let it finish on the plate.
This is a hot-weather dinner more than a cold-weather one, and it is what I cook when I want something bright on a night when turning on the oven sounds unbearable. It is also a good dish for people who say they do not like fish, because the spice and the lime give them somewhere else to put their attention. Everything can be prepped an hour ahead and held in the refrigerator, and the fish itself goes from raw to done faster than it takes to set the table. I serve it straight onto the slaw rather than plating anything separately, partly because it looks better that way and partly because the juices from the fish run down into the jicama and are too good to leave in the pan.
Ingredients
- 1 1/3 lb thick cod fillet, cut into 4 pieces and patted very dry
- 1 small jicama (about 12 oz), peeled and cut into thin matchsticks
- 2 ripe avocados, halved, pitted, and cut into thick wedges
- 8 radishes, sliced as thin as you can manage
- 4 scallions, sliced thin on an angle
- 1/2 cup cilantro leaves and tender stems, roughly chopped
- 3 tbsp lime juice, from about 2 limes, plus wedges to serve
- 2 tbsp olive oil, divided
- 1 1/2 tsp chipotle powder
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1/2 tsp fine sea salt
Instructions
- Cut the slaw: Peel the jicama with a knife rather than a peeler, since the skin is thick and fibrous. Slice it into planks, stack the planks, and cut them into thin matchsticks. Slice the radishes as thinly as you can, and cut the scallions on a sharp angle. Put all three in a bowl with the cilantro.
- Dress it and leave it: Add two tablespoons of the lime juice, one tablespoon of the olive oil, and a quarter teaspoon of the salt to the bowl and toss. Set it aside on the counter while you cook the fish. Ten minutes in the lime softens the radish edge and pulls the jicama juices out, and the slaw is better for the wait.
- Season the cod: Pat the fillets dry a second time, right before they go into the pan, and press them with paper towel if the surface still looks damp. Mix the chipotle powder, cumin, and remaining salt and rub it over both sides of every piece, pressing it in with your fingers so it holds.
- Sear it hard: Heat the remaining tablespoon of oil in a heavy skillet over medium-high until it shimmers and moves fast when you tilt the pan. Lay the fillets in presentation side down and do not touch them for three minutes. When the edge you can see has turned from glassy to white about halfway up, turn them once and cook two to three minutes more, depending on thickness.
- Plate while the pan is still hot: Divide the slaw between four plates and set a fillet on top of each. Tuck the avocado wedges alongside, spoon over the remaining lime juice, and serve immediately with extra lime. Cod goes from perfect to dry inside a minute or two of sitting, so bring it to the table as soon as it leaves the pan.
Variations
- Grilled instead of seared: Oil the grates well and grill the fillets over direct heat for three minutes a side. The rub picks up an extra layer of smoke.
- Shrimp: Toss a pound of peeled shrimp in the same rub and sear them for ninety seconds a side, then pile them straight onto the slaw.
- Cucumber and mint: Swap half the jicama for thinly sliced cucumber and the cilantro for torn mint, which sends the plate somewhere cooler and greener.
- Tacos: Flake the cooked fish, warm corn tortillas, and build them with the slaw and avocado for a version that feeds more people.
Storage & Leftovers
Cooked cod keeps two days in a sealed container in the refrigerator and is best eaten cold rather than reheated. Flaked over the leftover slaw with more lime, it makes a good lunch the next day and asks for no cooking at all.
The slaw without avocado holds for two days and stays crisp, which is the advantage of jicama. Cut the avocado only when you are ready to eat, since it browns within an hour of being sliced no matter how much lime you put on it.
I would not freeze either component. Cod turns cottony once it has been frozen after cooking, and jicama loses the crunch that is the entire reason it is there. If you want to get ahead, cut the jicama and radish in the morning and hold them in cold water in the refrigerator, then drain and dress them at dinner.
Notes & Tips
- Dry fish twice: Once when it comes out of the package and once right before it goes in the pan. Surface moisture steams the rub instead of searing it, and you end up with a red paste rather than a crust.
- Peel jicama with a knife: The skin has a tough fibrous layer under it that a vegetable peeler skates over. Cut the top and bottom flat, stand it up, and cut the peel away in strips.
- Slice radishes on a mandoline if you have one: Paper-thin slices go translucent in the lime and lose their harshness. Thick coins stay sharp and dominate the bowl.
- Judge the fish by the side, not the top: Watch the color climb the edge of the fillet. When it has turned opaque halfway up, the underside is ready and it is time to turn.
- Cut avocado last: Even under lime juice it dulls within the hour. Halve it while the fish is in the pan and it goes onto the plate at its best.
Nutrition & Mindful Eating
- Cod, jicama, and avocado each bring something different. The fish carries nearly all of the protein, the jicama gives the plate its crunch and a good part of its fiber, and the avocado supplies the fat that makes a plate of white fish and raw vegetables eat like a full dinner.
- Jicama is unusual among crisp raw vegetables in how much fiber it holds, most of it inulin, the kind that feeds the bacteria in your gut. It stays crunchy in acid, which is why the slaw is still good an hour after you dress it.
- Cod is a mild, large-flaked fish with a lot of protein for its weight, and it brings iodine and selenium along with it. Its low fat content is also why it goes from perfectly done to dry so quickly.
- Avocado adds monounsaturated fat and potassium, and the fat matters here in a practical way as well, since it carries the chipotle and cumin across the whole plate instead of leaving them stuck to the fish.
- Lime juice, radish, and cilantro give this its lift. The acid softens the radish bite, the radish keeps the bowl peppery, and the cilantro arrives last so its oils are still volatile when the plate reaches the table.
- As you eat, notice the swing between the hot smoky crust and the cold crisp jicama underneath it, and let that contrast slow you down enough to finish the plate rather than clear it.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does jicama taste like, and what if I cannot find it?
Crisp, watery, and faintly sweet, closer to a water chestnut than to an apple. If your store does not carry it, thinly sliced kohlrabi is the best stand-in and behaves the same way in lime juice. Shredded cabbage works too, though it will soften more as it sits.
Can I use a different fish?
Halibut, tilapia, and thick haddock all take this rub well. What matters is thickness rather than variety, since a thin fillet will overcook before the crust develops. If your fish is under an inch thick, cut the sear to about two minutes a side.
My rub burned before the fish was done. What went wrong?
The pan was too hot, or the fillet was too thick for the heat you gave it. Chipotle powder scorches faster than the fish cooks. Medium-high rather than high is right, and a thick fillet is better finished with the burner turned down to medium for the last two minutes.
How spicy is this?
Warm rather than fierce, with the heat arriving after the smoke. If you are cooking for people who are cautious about chile, use a teaspoon of chipotle powder and make up the volume with smoked paprika, which gives you the color and the smoke without the heat.