Today, a delicious classic from French cuisine: Cod with White Wine Sauce. Enjoy a delicious fish recipe that tastes really good. The main ingredients: are fresh cod that is perfectly fried, topped with a delicious white wine sauce, which is creamy and refined.
This recipe is simple, elegant, and mouth-watering. Great for a dinner party, Easter or Christmas. With a sauce of white wine and lemon, you get a delicious combination with the cod, which takes the fish to an even higher level. So let's quickly prepare your skillet, get the fish out of the fridge and prepare this delicious fish dish. Everyone is going to enjoy this!
Try the delicious taste of Cod with Creamy White Wine Sauce
Fish with white wine sauce is a classic dish that combines the delicate taste of fish with the freshness and light acidity of white wine. It dated back to the 19th century and was often served by noble (read wealthy) French families.
This delicious recipe spread across Europe and the rest of the world from France, with various adjustments to the original recipe. This elegant and easy-to-make recipe is perfect for dinner parties, a romantic dinner for two, or the holidays.
Everyone will love this dish at both Easter and Christmas.
The fresh fish, white wine, and creamy sauce make this irresistibly delicious. So let's try it!
What do you need for Pan-Seared Fish in White Wine Sauce?
You require the following ingredients to prepare this Cod in White Wine Sauce. You can find the correct amounts in the recipe card at the bottom of the blog:
Ingredients Cod fillet
- Cod fillet: A white fish with a full but also neutral taste. It has a dense structure that becomes flaky when cooked.
- Flour: Dip the cod in the flour before baking. When you fry the fish in the pan, it gets a delicious crispy exterior that becomes golden yellow.
- Salt and Pepper: To season the fish.
- Oil: For frying the fish. Use a neutral (no flavor) oil, like sunflower oil.
Ingredients White wine sauce
- Vegetable stock: A vegetable stock is quickly made, which is the ideal way to process leftovers. And full of flavor! This is a delicious recipe for homemade vegetable stock.
- Shallot: Adds extra flavor to the sauce. A shallot has a bit more spice compared to a regular onion.
- White wine: Use a dry white wine such as Sauvignon Blanc or Pinot Grigio. The alcohol evaporates as the sauce cooks. Do not use sweet white wine or cooking wine.
- Lemon Juice: Freshly squeezed, nothing beats it.
- White wine vinegar: Is made from wine, where the alcohol is converted to acetic acid. It is lighter, sweeter, and more refined than regular vinegar.
- Sugar: A bit of sugar will enhance the flavor of this sauce and make it less acidic.
- Cream: You use it to give the sauce a creamy taste.
- Butter: To make the sauce creamier. Using cold butter makes the sauce thicker and silky.
- Thyme: Use fresh thyme to give a lot of flavor to the cod with white wine sauce.
How to prepare Cod with White Wine Lemon Sauce
You can find a printable recipe with a detailed description at the bottom of this blog.
- Mix the flour with the salt and pepper. Dip each cod fillet in the flour mixture and shake off the excess. Heat some oil in a frying pan. Place the fillets in the pan and cook for 3 minutes on each side until golden brown and done. Remove the cod fillets from the pan and place them in a baking dish. Place in a 285 °F (ca. 141 °C) oven to keep warm.
- Put some oil in the pan and add the shallot. Fry for 3 minutes until the onion is translucent. Pour in the white wine vinegar, salt, pepper, and sugar, stir well, and bring to a boil. Turn the heat high and reduce until you have half the liquid left.
- Pour the cream into the pan, bring to a boil, and simmer for 2 minutes. Then add the cold butter cubes and mix them through the sauce with a wooden spoon; the sauce will thicken nicely.
- Return the fish to the pan and pour some sauce on top. Garnish with fresh thyme leaves and serve immediately.
This Cod in white whine sauce is delicious served with potatoes with green herbs, green beans with herb breadcrumbs, and a chicory salad with apples.
Tips, Substitutions, and Variations
- Herbs: Add extra flavor to the sauce. Parsley, dill, and rosemary are good choices.
- White wine: By varying the type of wine, your sauce gets a different taste.
- Cod: Pangasius fillets or Salmon filet are also good choices.
- Sauce: Add some cocktail shrimp to the white wine sauce.
- Creamier sauce: Then replace the cream with sour cream or crème fraîche.
No, that is not recommended. Red wine has a more intense flavor compared to white wine. As a result, it can dominate the flavor of the fish.
The fish must be fully cooked before serving. It is then opaque and white. And if you prick into the fish with a fork, it falls apart easily. The cooking time is around three minutes, but it depends on the thickness of your fish.
Yes, that's possible. Store it covered in the refrigerator up to two days in advance. Then, heat it over low heat, stirring, until warm.
Did you make this recipe? Tag #byandreajanssen via Instagram. I enjoy seeing what your creation looks like. Video recipes can be found on my YouTube channel. And don't forget to save the recipes on Pinterest so you can easily find them next time!
📖 Recipe
RECIPE CARD
Equipment
- A conventional oven is used. When using a convection oven (with air fan) decrease the temperature with 30 °F / 20 °C
- oven dish
- frying pan
Ingredients
Pan-Seared Cod fillets
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground white pepper
- 1 ¼ pound cod fillets, 4 fillets
- 2 tablespoons sunflower oil
White wine sauce
- 2 tablespoons sunflower oil
- 1 shallot, finely chopped
- ⅔ cup vegetable stock
- ⅔ cup dry white wine
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice, freshly squeezed
- 1 teaspoon white wine vinegar
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- ⅛ teaspoon pepper
- ¼ teaspoon sugar
- ¾ cup cream
- 2 tablespoons butter, cold, in cubes of ½ x. ½ inch (1 x 1 cm)
- 2 teaspoons fresh thyme, leaves only
All my recipes are written both in Metric (gram / ml) and US Customary (cups / pounds). Here you can select which type of amount you would like to see.
Instructions
Pan-Seared Cod fillets
- Preheat the oven to
285 °F or 250 °F. - Mix the flour with salt and pepper on a deep plate.½ cup all-purpose flour, ½ teaspoon salt, ¼ teaspoon ground white pepper
- Press the cod fillets into the flour until well coated, tapping off the excess.1 ¼ pound cod fillets
- Heat oil in a large skillet until hot. Fry the fish for 2 to 3 minutes on both sides until golden brown and cooked through.2 tablespoons sunflower oil
- Remove the cod from the pan, place it in the baking dish, and put it in the oven.
White wine sauce
- Heat oil in the frying pan and add the shallot.2 tablespoons sunflower oil, 1 shallot
- Cook for three minutes until translucent, stirring occasionally.
- Add the stock, white wine, lemon juice, vinegar, salt, pepper, and sugar, and stir well. Bring to a boil and, stirring occasionally, reduce until you've got half the amount of liquid.⅔ cup vegetable stock, ⅔ cup dry white wine, 1 teaspoon lemon juice, 1 teaspoon white wine vinegar, ⅛ teaspoon salt, ⅛ teaspoon pepper, ¼ teaspoon sugar
- Pour the cooking cream into the frying pan and let it simmer for 2 minutes on low heat.¾ cup cream
- Add the cold butter cubes to the pan and stir with a wooden spoon until melted. The sauce is now thicker.2 tablespoons butter
- Return the fish to the pan and spoon some sauce over it.
- Scatter thyme leaves over the fish and sauce and serve.2 teaspoons fresh thyme
Notes
- Pangasius fillets or Salmon filet are also good choices.
- The fish must be fully cooked before serving. It is then opaque and white. And if you prick it with a fork, it falls apart easily. The cooking time is around three minutes, but it depends on the thickness of your fish.
- Herbs - Add extra flavor to the sauce. Parsley, dill, and rosemary are good choices.
- Very tasty - Sauce - Add some shrimp to the white wine sauce.
- Creamier - Replace the cream with sour cream or crème fraîche.
It is important to quickly cool the sauce and fish you want to store to prevent bacterial growth.
- Refrigerator (Sauce): You can make the sauce earlier. Store it covered in the fridge up to two days in advance. Then, heat it over low heat, stirring, until warm.
- Refrigerator (Leftovers of cod with white wine sauce) - Store in an airtight container for up to two days.
- Freezer: You cannot freeze this recipe because the sauce can curdle.
- Reheat
- Microwave: Reheat fish with sauce at 30-second intervals until hot. Stir in between.
- Skillet: Add two tablespoons of water and heat over low heat, occasionally stirring, until hot. Then immediately remove it from the stove; otherwise, your fish may become dry.
Nutrition
Helen at the Lazy Gastronome says
A wonderful - easy and delicious - recipe!! I used chardonnay and it came out perfect. Cod is my favorite and this recipe really elevated an already great food.
DK says
I've been looking for a good cod dish like this one! The creamy sauce combined with the flakiness of the cod, makes this an irresistible dinner!
Nicole NK says
The lemon juice, and the hint of sugar really took this recipe to the next level. One of the best cods I have had.
Nora says
I’ve added some shrimp like you’ve recommended. So good!
Dalya Rubin says
If I'm being honest, Cod has always been an intimidating fish for me to make and I never know what to do with it -- this recipe is literally everything I needed to make the best cod ever! Thank you!
Andréa says
Great choice!
Andréa says
It's so good!