baked cod with almonds

Christmas is coming and Winter is approaching... sudden wish of cinnamon, cookies, potatoes... although this season is not being too chilly, it's still nice and cosy to get home and eat something warm! So please try this simple recipe for baked codfish, I bought it at Rialto of course, they sell it without head and innards, but still with skin, which allows you to bake it as it is: it will stay juicy and tender, really delicious.

For 4
a whole codfish (about 900-1000g)
olive oil
salt
50g sliced almonds
20g butter (optional)
8 mid-sized potatoes

Pre-heat the oven at 200°C. Peel and chop the potatoes in dices (about 2cm per side), then pour them onto a baking dish covered with baking paper, season with salt and olive oil, then put them in the oven. After 15 minutes, take out the dish, move the potatoes towards the sides and put the codfish with its skin in the center, season with salt and pour a little olive oil on it. For the almonds, you have 2 choices: if everybody eats them, you can just sparkle them on the fish and let them toast with the fish. Otherwise keep them aside. Now bake everything for another half an hour. If you prefer to keep the almonds aside, toast them a few minutes in a pan, then add the butter without frying it, just the time to melt it. When the fish is ready, you can pour this sauce on each portion. In the picture, I served it with potatoes and chicory. Yummy!