Easy Mediterranean-style Cod with Caper Dressing & Roasties

There are some dishes that transport you somewhere else entirely with just one bite. This Mediterranean-style cod is exactly that – a holiday for your taste buds and no passport required.

I first threw this together on one of those reliably grim Tuesday nights – grey skies, rain on a sideways slant, and me staring into the fridge like it owed me something Mediterranean.

You know the mood: mentally checked out, craving sea views, a chilled glass of something crisp, and a taverna soundtrack of clinking cutlery and bobbing boats. This dish is basically that feeling, on a plate.

What I love about it? It’s effortlessly impressive – the kind of thing you can pull together in under 30 minutes and still feel like you’ve done something generous. It doesn’t shout “midweek panic dinner” – it hums “sun-drenched kitchen in Santorini,” even if you’re in soggy suburbia with socks on the radiator.

The fish cooks to flaky, buttery perfection, nestled into golden roast potatoes that soak up every bit of those tomatoey, olive-oil-rich juices.

And that sauce – worth talking about. It’s the kind that tastes like it’s been simmering all afternoon, but really takes minutes. Juicy, in-season tomatoes meet the depth of sundried tomato paste, rounded out with passata for body and a drizzle of maple syrup to soften the edges. It’s rich, bright, just sweet enough – the kind of sauce that makes you want to swipe the plate clean when no one’s watching. (And honestly? Even if they are.)

If you’ve never been into capers, these might change your mind. The Drivers Capucine Capers are genuinely next level – bright, briny little bursts that cut through the richness of the sauce like a dream. Stirred through with fresh parsley and good olive oil, they become this punchy little topping that takes the whole dish up a notch. Suddenly, you’re not just eating fish with sauce – you’re wondering why you haven’t been adding capers to everything.

And the potatoes? They’re not just hanging around in the background. Roasted until crisp and golden, with fluffy centres and plenty of Italian herbs, they soak up all the good stuff – the sauce, the olive oil, that hint of garlic – and bring the perfect contrast to the tender fish and silky tomato base.

What makes this dish especially brilliant for real-life, midweek cooking is how easily it comes together — one roasting tray (plus a quick saucepan situation for the sauce), minimal fuss, and maximum reward. The potatoes go in first, the fish joins later, and you’re left with something that looks like effort… but wasn’t. Which leaves more time to sip something cold and pretend you’re on a balcony somewhere in the Med.

It’s also endlessly adaptable. No cod? Try sea bass, haddock, even a chunky piece of hake. Not into capers? Swap them for olives, or skip the topping altogether (though I’ll quietly judge you). The heart of this recipe is that punchy tomato, garlic and herb base — and once you’ve got that, the rest is up to you.

Now, onto the recipe itself, with sunshine and capers aplenty…