Roasted Norwegian haddock with bacon & rye crisp and sea vegetables
There is something really comforting about this dish, and it's a doddle to make. The bacon adds a deep, savoury flavour to the crisp topping and the rye bread adds crunch and a slightly sweet, earthiness. Any extra bacon & rye crisp can be kept in an airtight bag or tupperware box for sprinkling on salads, in soups and as a garnish on sandwiches or other savoury dishes. If you're making this during the winter months then a mix of steamed winter greens works really well as an accompaniment.
Cooking time30-40 min
Difficulty levelMedium
Rating5/5
Ingredients
Preparation
- Start by preheating the oven to 120°C. Place the rye bread slices in an even layer on a wire rack and allow to dry out for 20 minutes, if sliced thinly, or up to 40 minutes if you like chunkier slices. If the bread is already dry and stale, simply blitz it in a blender or magimix and set aside while you cook the bacon.
- In a skillet pour a tablespoon of vegetable oil and fry the bacon in two batches over a medium heat until the bacon is crisp, the fat has rendered and the fat is a golden-brown colour. Remove from the pan and dry on kitchen paper. Keep the bacon fat that's left in the pan.
- Allow the bacon to cool completely, then break up into pieces and blitz in a blender or magimix to a fine consistency. Remove from the blender and blitz the rye bread (if you haven't already done so) to a similar consistency. In a bowl, mix both the bacon and rye bread together and drizzle some of the bacon fat left in the saucepan over the mixture to bring it together so it's not a dry powder. Taste the mixture, it should be salty and have a delicious bacon-rye flavour.
- Crank up the oven to 200°C and in a roasting dish place the six pieces of haddock, making sure to space them evenly apart. Rub a little oil around each fillet piece and season with a small amount of salt and a good amount of pepper, then sprinkle the bacon rye mixture on top of each slice so you have a really good coating to create a crisp crust when roasting.
- Roast in the oven for 10-15 minutes, depending on the thickness of the haddock. Remove from the oven and serve immediately with a selection of sea vegetables and a seasonal salad of your choice.