THE TASTE OF HISTORY

It's the week after Thanksgiving, which means there are only three weeks or so until Christmas. The pace in every household picks up at this time of year, and what the authors of the Ladies Village Improvement Society's 80th anniversary cookbook called a "one-fish dinner" might just fill the bill at the end of a hectic day.

With arugula salad, and a sweet pudding dessert, the authors recommend:

BAKED COD WITH TOMATOES

1/2 cup olive oil
1 cup chopped onion
4 thick fillets of cod or halibut, about 2 lbs.
1/4 cup chopped parsley
1/2 tsp. oregano
2 cups canned plum tomatoes, drained and chopped, with juice reserved
3 large potatoes, peeled, quartered, and parboiled for 10 minutes
Salt and freshly ground pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Pour two tablespoons of the olive oil in a baking dish large enough to hold all the ingredients comfortably. Spread half the onions in the baking dish and top with fish. Cover with remaining onion, parsley, and oregano, and season with salt and pepper. Add the remaining oil and enough juice from the tomatoes, or water, to cover the fish.

Arrange the potatoes around the fish. Cover with the tomatoes and bake, uncovered, for about 30 minutes, or until the potatoes and the fish are tender.

Serves four.