The protein cooking time listed in this recipe has been updated.
As of December 2025, we’ve revised cooking times for all our proteins to reflect improved food safety guidance.
Check out the latest recommended times in our Cooking Guidelines.
Red Pesto Cod with Sundried Tomato Risotto
It’s our easy, Mindful Chef take on risotto – with brown rice, sweet sundried tomatoes and fragrant Italian herbs. We pack in the greens with courgette and kale. Then top with a flaky baked fillet of sustainably-sourced cod, covered with a delicious red pesto.
High protein
6 plants
Low sat fat
Serving size
Ingredients
- 11g vegetable stock powder (Salt, Rice Flour, Yeast Extract, Onion Powder, Carrot Powder, Tomato Powder, Parsnip Powder, Green Bean Powder, Parsley Flakes, Lovage Root Extract, Rapeseed Oil, Ground Mace, Ground White Pepper, Garlic Powder.)
- 1 unwaxed lemon
- 40g sundried tomatoes (Sundried Tomato Halves [Sundried tomatoes 92-88% (Turkey), Salt 8-12% (Turkey), E330 (Citric Acid) 0.4 %, E300 (Ascorbic Acid) 0.35 %], Water, Spirit Vinegar, Rapeseed Oil, Oregano, Salt)
- 1 tbsp Italian herbs (Thyme, Marjoram, Parsley, Oregano, Sage, Basil)
- 4 cod fillets (skin off) (Fish)
- 500g steamed brown basmati rice (Natural Brown Basmati Rice – Steamed (98%), Rice Bran Oil, Acacia Fibre.)
- 2 tbsp red pesto (Rapeseed Oil, Tomato Puree, Diced Tomatoes, Water, Salt (Anti caking agent), Olive Oil, Spirit Vinegar, Garlic, Paprika Flakes, Red chillies, Ground Cumin, Ground Coriander, Rubbed Parsley, Rubbed Oregano, Ground black pepper, Smoked Paprika, Rose Petals, Citric Acid, Ground Caraway seed, Ground White Pepper)
- 80g sliced kale
- 1 courgette
- 200g passata (tomatoes, salt, citric acid)
- 1 onion
- 4 garlic clove
- 1 handful of fresh flat-leaf parsley
Nutritional Information
Calories: 490
Protein: 43g
Carbs: 45g
Fat: 16g
Red Pesto Cod with Sundried Tomato Risotto
It’s our easy, Mindful Chef take on risotto – with brown rice, sweet sundried tomatoes and fragrant Italian herbs. We pack in the greens with courgette and kale. Then top with a flaky baked fillet of sustainably-sourced cod, covered with a delicious red pesto.
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Cooking Instructions
Before you start
- Preheat the oven to 200C / fan 180C / gas 6 / air fryer 200C
- Pull out a large frying pan & a grater
Bake the fish
- Zest the lemon, then cut 4 thin rounds from the middle of the lemon
- Place the cod onto a lined baking tray
- Spread the pesto evenly over the fillets and top each with a lemon round. Season with salt and pepper
- Bake in the oven for 25 mins / air fryer 15 mins until the fish is cooked through
Cook the veg
- Meanwhile, dice the courgette and onion into 1cm cubes
- Finely chop or crush the garlic. Roughly chop the sundried tomatoes
- Heat a large frying pan with 2 tbsp oil on medium-high heat (we used the HexClad 30cm Hybrid Pan). Once hot, add the prepped veg and Italian herbs
- Cook for 5 mins, until softened
Make the sauce
- Add the passata to the pan along with 100ml hot water
- Add the stock and stir
- Bring to a boil and simmer for 8 mins, until thickened
Heat the rice
- Pick any woody stalks from the kale
- Roughly chop the parsley
- Stir the cooked rice, kale and half the parsley into the tomato sauce
- Simmer for 3-4 mins, until the kale has wilted and the rice is piping hot. Season with salt and pepper
Serve up
- Serve the risotto topped with the cod
- Garnish with the zest, remaining parsley and lemon, cut into wedges
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