Bacon Wrapped Cod with Balsamic and Garlic Reduction

So it’s been a while that I’ve been wanting to make this, Bacon covered fish… to be honest I’ll eat just about anything if it’s wrapped in bacon….I also made a garlic and balsamic vinegar reduction sauce to serve with the fish, the sweetness of the brown sugar in the balsamic reduction is a perfect balance to the salty bacon that so lovingly wraps around the cod. This is a really simple dish to make that has major food porn photo potential.

Ingredients
4 thick cut cod fillets
6 bacon slices
1/2 c balsamic vinegar
1 tsp dark brown sugar
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1/2 tsp tomato paste
black pepper

 

 

To prepare the fish, pat the fillets dry using paper towel, season the fillets with black pepper.

Wrap the fish fillets in the bacon, 3 slices of bacon will wrap 2 fillets, ( see photo above) set aside

Heat a large frying pan over a medium heat, place the bacon covered cod in the pan and sear for 3 minutes a side until the bacon has browned. ( At my house fish has to be reaaaaallly well done in order for anyone but myself to eat it and so I cooked the fish for a bit longer )

To make the reduction sauce,  heat the balsamic vinegar, brown sugar, garlic cloves and tomato paste in a small sauce pan, simmer over a medium low heat for 5-10 minutes until reduced by 1/2 and thickened.

Carmelized Bacon and Onion Tart

 Ingredients *9 inch tart

For the pastry

1  2/3 c flour

8 tbsp cold butter, cut into small pieces

3-4 tbsp cold water

Place the flour in a large bowl, and work the butter into the flour using your fingers until it resembles bread crumbs, stir in the cold water, 1 tbsp at a time until the dough comes together.  Shape the dough into a disk, wrap with plastic and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

For the filling

2 tbsp butter

5 medium size onions, peeled and thinly sliced

3 slices of thick cut bacon, or 5 slices of regular bacon, diced

50g Swiss cheese, grated or sliced

30g Havarti cheese grated or cubed

1/3 cup 35% heavy cream

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 large egg

Salt and pepper to taste

 To make the filling, melt the butter in a large pan over a medium heat, throw in the onions and allow the onions to slowly brown, and soften, about 20 minutes or so. Add the bacon to the pan and continue to cook the onions allowing the bacon fat to render off, about 15 minutes.  Take off the heat and allow the onions to cool.

Pre heat the oven to 345*f

Roll out the pastry dough on a lightly floured surface using a rolling pin, to about a 1/8 of an inch thick, and lay the dough over a 9 inch tart pan, gently pressing the dough into the sides and cutting off any excess dough away.

Fill the tart with the onion and bacon mixture, layering the onions with the cheese. In a small bowl combine the heavy cream, minced garlic and egg, season with salt and pepper and whisk, pour the egg mixture over the onions, bacon and cheese mixture in the tart shell.  Sprinkle with paprika for some colour.

Bake for 45 minutes until the cheese is melted and golden.