Seared Cod with Spring Veggies and Lemon-Mustard Vinaigrette

Soooo....over 2 years since my last post.  In that time, I've completed my 2nd and 3rd year of med school, I've taken the first part of my national board exams (with round two coming up next month), and I have been preparing to apply for a residency in pediatrics!  By this time next year, I'll be a doctor and starting the next leg of the journey.  Crazy how time flies!

I recently got the opportunity to try Blue Apron for free for 1 week.  Blue Apron is a service that sends you all the fresh materials you need to make delicious meals, right to your door in a refrigerated and insulated box, perfectly portioned and ready to cook.  It costs $60 per week and you receive 3 different meals, each of which serve 2 people, so that means I have lunch for the next day!  I figured I'd try it out since it was free, and why not fire up the blog again?

The first recipe I made was the Seared Cod with Spring Vegetables and Lemon-Mustard Vinaigrette.  You can see below how everything is portioned out so that you use all of what you're given and there is no waste.  All you need are pans, cooking utensils, salt & pepper, and olive oil.  Everything else is provided!

Each recipe comes with a detailed card that lists the ingredients you need, nutritional information, and directions with pictures on the back.

 The first step is prep!  I chopped up the asparagus, potatoes, radishes, and lemon.  I've never cut radishes before - they were actually kind of fun to slice!

Next I blanched the asparagus by boiling them for 2 minutes and then immediately transferring them to a bowl of ice water.  I then boiled the potatoes for 10 minutes while I worked on assembling the vinaigrette.

The vinaigrette consists of the juice of a lemon, 1 tbsp dijon mustard, and 2 tbsp minced shallots, all whisked together while adding 2 tbsp olive oil.  It smelled amazing!

Next up was the cod!  I patted the cod dry and seasoned with salt and pepper while heating up some oil in a pan on medium-high heat.  After searing the fillets on one side for 3 minutes, I added some of the butter and flipped them to cook for another 2 minutes.

While the cod was cooking, I assembled the veggies!  I put the radishes, asparagus, and potatoes in a bowl and added capers and tarragon.  I then poured the vinaigrette on top and mixed it.  It looked so fresh and colorful, and smelled wonderful!

Finally it was time to eat!  The vegetables were amazing, and this recipe is something I can definitely see myself making in the future.  Quick, easy, fresh, healthy, and tasty!  The cod tasted pretty good, but it would have been better with a sauce or marinade of some kind.  But the real star of the show was the veggies!  I saved half of the veggies in the fridge for tomorrow, and I'm hoping that the flavor will get even better.

My next meal is seared steak with mashed potatoes!  We'll see how that goes!