fish

delicious roasted white fish wrapped in smoked bacon with lemon mayonnaise and asparagus

servings
4

method

This combination is a complete win-win. Any robust white fish like haddock or monkfish will work brilliantly, as would whiting and coley, as they are all wonderful carriers of flavors and can handle the stronger tastes of crispy smoked bacon and rosemary. I love this recipe because it treats the fish almost like a piece of meat, with crispy and soft, flaky textures together.

Preheat your oven to 200ºC/400ºF/gas 6. Season your beautiful fish filets with the rosemary, finely grated lemon zest (no bitter white pith, please) and pepper – you don’t need to use salt because we’re going to wrap the fish in the lovely salty smoked bacon. Lay your rashers of bacon or pancetta on a board and one by one run the flat of a knife along them to thin them and widen them out. Lay 4 rashers together, slightly overlapping, put a fish filet on top and wrap the rashers around it.

Lightly heat a large ovenproof frying pan, add a splash of olive oil and lay your fish, prettiest side facing up, in the pan. Fry for a minute, then place the pan in your preheated oven for 10 to 12 minutes, depending on the thickness of the fish, until the bacon is crisp and golden.

While the fish is cooking, you can make your simple lemon mayonnaise. I do this by mixing homemade mayonnaise with a nice amount of lemon juice and pepper. Or, if you’d rather sit down for five minutes with a glass of wine, use some ready-made mayo instead! You want to add enough lemon juice to make the flavor slightly too zingy. This is because, when you eat it with the asparagus and the fish, it will lessen slightly in intensity. And don’t worry if the mayo looks a little thinner than usual when you’ve added the lemon juice – think of it as more delicate.

The asparagus is a great accompaniment because, like the fish, it also loves bacon. You can either boil or steam it; either way it’s light and a nice contrast to the meatiness of the fish. When cooked, toss it in the juices that come out of the fish. Simply serve the fish next to a nice pile of asparagus, drizzled with the lemon-spiked mayonnaise. And if you’re feeling very hungry, serve with some steaming-hot new potatoes.

• from Cook With Jamie

ingredients

• 4 x 200g white fish fillets, cut 2.5cm thick, skinned and pinboned
• 2 sprigs of fresh rosemary, leaves picked and very finely chopped
zest and juice of 2 lemons
• freshly ground black pepper
• 16 rashers of thinly sliced, smoked streaky bacon or pancetta
• olive oil
• 4 tablespoons mayonnaise
• 2 large bunches of asparagus, trimmed

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1. by Ines nkurunziza on Wed 09 Nov 2011 @ 11:19

Made this for my British family and they loved it. I love your cooking Jamie and always cook from your boil. You are the best. P.S: getting the new book for Christmas. God bless you Ines

2. by cal on Tue 25 Oct 2011 @ 20:29

jamie, you are so insane, my and my girlfriend naomi think you are some kind of weird cooking god, we have a jamie shrine, and crossed out jesus' name in the bible every time it appeared and replaced it with 'jamie oliver', stay safe,

3. by Judy Newman on Tue 20 Sep 2011 @ 16:59

Hi Jamie, I'm going to try this tonight-I am very excited about it, the recipe sounds delish !!! I will report back on how well it went, fingers x'd..

4. by cooking on Mon 12 Sep 2011 @ 19:17

Awesome stuff you guys got here. I really like the theme of the website and how well you organized the content. It’s a marvelous job I will come back :-) and check you out sometime.check my <a href="http://www.getreadyz.info"/>cooking</a> site if you have time

5. by Shelli on Fri 05 Aug 2011 @ 12:24

I made this last night. Was out of this world. Do have one suggestion though. The sauce ..... Was a bit too sharp for us. I added a bit of good quality liquid honey and a pinch of good sea salt and it mellowed it completely. Was outstanding!! Was great for today's lunch too.

6. by Lorraine on Mon 30 May 2011 @ 11:00

Loved, loved, LOVED IT!!!!!! Thanks for the recipe!

7. by sarah on Sun 15 May 2011 @ 20:05

Why didn't the bacon go crispy? The fish was overcooked before the bacon!

8. by Jonni Lynch on Wed 30 Mar 2011 @ 18:32

This has easily become our "go to" weeknight fish dinner--it's SUPER quick and really fabulous. The flavors are wonderful, and I'm happy to prepare a beautiful and healthy meal for my family. Additionally, it's a very reasonable meal to make.

9. by gem_lou on Mon 13 Dec 2010 @ 12:10

how long does this dish take to cook and prepare?

10. by Bibi Wachowski on Mon 13 Dec 2010 @ 00:02

Great dish to permanently scare unwanted guests from your home! I marinated the filets a few hours in savina habaneros pepper juice then followed the recipe. Wooot!! Thanks Jaime!

11. by jkeithrg2 on Sat 27 Feb 2010 @ 20:58

delicious dish made it for gcse great dish

12. by Thao on Fri 02 Oct 2009 @ 07:56

I was banned from my ex-roommate's kitchen for not knowing how to cook and for having previously "food - poisoned" someone I made dinner for. BUT I cooked this dish for my boyfriend tonight and we THOROUGHLY enjoyed it a lot! We added a little wine and some standard jazz playing in the background and our late night 11pm meal turned into a romantic dinner for two. Perfection at its best! Thank you for the recipe!!!!

13. by Tristan Hedges on Tue 29 Sep 2009 @ 20:42

Hey Jamie, its me again.
I just made this dish and it was a treat! I made it for 4 of us and the monkfish and bacon combo was orgasmic, i did over cook my esparagus a bit but the lemon mayo and new potatoes made up for it accompanied by green beans. A definate dish to do again even i think you would be proud of what i just made, and remember im only 14 so its just the start :)
Thanks so much- True Inspiration.
Yours faithfully Tristan

14. by Tristan Hedges on Sat 26 Sep 2009 @ 20:02

Hi Jamie
I am loving your American road trip right now, and am going to do a pork roast with your basil leaf marinade for a party. I am 14 so just started my GCSE cooking and on tuesday i shall be cooking this recipe for my Family, hope it goes down well.
All the best.

15. by Stephsey on Fri 14 Aug 2009 @ 13:51

I made tis dish for friends last week - one of whom is a chef so I was feeling the pressure! However it went down a treat and my friend has since asked me for the recipe as she wants to cook for her friends!!! Thanks Jamie Oliver!!

16. by Oonagh on Wed 17 Jun 2009 @ 20:51

I made this dish last nite, i used monkfish tales instead of cod, although a little more expensive it made it a lot easier when fileting the fish. Monkfish also had a very flaversome taste to it which complemented the rosemary and lemon mayonnaise. i made a slightly bigger dish by cooking up some baby new potatoes to go with the asparagus. My boyfriend absolutely loved the meal, so i will be keeping a close eye on this site for more great recipes. Thanks!

17. by Anne on Mon 15 Jun 2009 @ 16:13

This was so easy & worked well with cod & French beans on the side - also with cous cous! More recipes please!

18. by Paris on Fri 12 Jun 2009 @ 23:01

Hia! i have recently decided its about time i learnt how to cook and cant wait to do so :)! i think this dish looks fantastic as i love eating healthily and fish is great! the only this is that i really do not like asparagus...is there anything else that could be put on the side to complement it instead?!x

19. by Josenaldo on Fri 12 Jun 2009 @ 00:53

Ola Jamie, sou brasileiro, adoro seu programa e suas receitas. parabens

20. by Murph on Thu 11 Jun 2009 @ 17:03

Hosted several friends and family last night. This was easy to make and the flavors were great. We used Monk Fish. Very delicious, and will make this again.

21. by Michelle Maroney on Wed 20 May 2009 @ 22:37

My daughter Lauren who is 16 years of age is mad about cooking. She has now been cooking the meals at home for pretty much the last 2 years as I am studying and haven't had the time. She is very much into the healthy lifestyle. She cannot wait to turn 18 and try out for Masterchef in Australia. She sits there watching the show commenting on the different techniques and takes it all in.
She watches every cooking show imaginable on foxtel also. Just wondering if you might have some ideas for her on how to get a start in this career. She is not quite sure that she wants to work in a restaurant but would maybe like to be a food editor or get to the stage of writing her own cook book. Celebrity chef would be the ultimate. Any suggestions. We both love your recipes and your show.

Kind Regards
Michelle

22. by nathalie on Wed 20 May 2009 @ 18:10

love your freshness! inventive, almost sexy! keep up!

23. by Jon Widdicombe on Mon 18 May 2009 @ 21:24

Hi Jamie. I'm 59 years old and have never cooked until recently when my wife took on another day's work & I felt I should start cooking a meal 2 days a week. My wife is an excellent cook by the way. Tried this recipe and it was absolutely brilliant. So good that when our daughter & son-in-law came round for a meal to celebrate their anniversary I did it again, this time for 5 people - my daughter was speechless. I have taken your advice re-shopping for fish & have found a local fish wholesaler who will sell to the public. I have also cooked your swordfish with salsa di giovanna (from Jamie's Italy) - wonderful!! Cook with Jamie is my bible at the moment, I've really got the bug. My wife also loves your books!!

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