As a cook, I get my inspiration from in many ways: through travel, exploring your own city’s dining scene, family and friends, TV shows, cookbooks and media (internet).

The inspiration for this dish came from Chef Eric Ripert, a French Chef who grown up on the Cote D’Azur and he’s made his Le Bernardin restaurant one of the hardest places to get a reservation in New York.

My dish takes some French inspiration mixed with Greek flare, making a gorgeous and delicious fish and seafood saganaki dish.

Saganaki refers to the two handle pans called “sagan” – I’ve made many different dishes in a saganaki style and now you have a new one, a celebration of fish and seafood highlighting fresh cod, sweet scallops and briny mussels.

Cod Saganaki with Scallops and Mussels

(serves 2)

1 cod fillet (6 oz.)

4 scallops

12 mussels, scrubbed and debearded

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1/2 cup finely diced white onion

2 Tbsp. finely chopped celery

3 cloves of garlic, minced

1/3 cup dry white wine

2 tsp. lemon juice

1/2 cup heavy cream

1/4 cup celery leaves

sliced red chill peppers

salt and pepper

1. Take your cod and scallops out the fridge, pat-dry and set aside. In a medium sized pan, add your olive oil over medium heat, add the onions, garlic and celery and sweat for 3-4 minutes. Crank heat up to high, add mussels, wine and lemon juice and place lid on. Steam mussels for 3-4 minutes or until shells just open up.
2. Strain liquid and vegetables and reserve. Pluck mussel meat out of their shells (discard any mussels that didn’t open up) and reserve.
3. To the same pan, pour the mussel broth into the pan (stopping before you reach the grit in the bottom), diced veggies, add the cream and simmer uncovered for 3-4 minutes or until thickened. Add mussel meat to warm through, turn heat off. Adjust sauce with salt and pepper, lemon juice.
4. Season your cod and scallops with salt and pepper. Place a large non-stick pan on your stove-top over medium high heat. Add a couple of tablespoons of olive oil and place the cod and scallops in the hot pan. Sear cod for about 3 minutes side and scallops about 1-2 minutes a side.
5. I am serving this in the pan with the cream sauce, so transfer cod and scallops to pan with sauce, top with celery leaves, chilli peppers and serve. Don’t forget the crusty bread!