Serves: 2
Cost: ~€4.20
Preparation time: ~30 mins
Calories: ~390 per serving
Hi everyone – please forgive my tardiness in updating – as you may know, I’ve had family over, and indeed still do. I thought I had things well under control but it would appear that I was caught rather off-guard and didn’t really have my “ducks in a row”, so to speak. Normal programming will hopefully resume by the weekend, but I don’t like to suddenly let my site “go dark”, so in the meantime I thought I should try and get this recipe out as it’s something which worked out rather well. and is well worth a try. The photography was still done on my old camera before you wonder :).
I have Eva from KitchenInspirations to thank for the inspiration for part of this dish. Way back last year, when I first started following her blog, one of the initial recipes I encountered on her site was for a fantastic alternative to mashed potato – mashed cauliflower and celeriac! I have to admit – I’m not a fan of cauliflower. I’m sure I’ve spewed a vitriolic diatribe against the revolting vegetable at some point in the past on this blog – it’s one of those things which just tastes funky. It’s ok in a soup, piccalilli, curry or pie, but on its own, as the “star” of a dish? Well… “no thank you”. (I should mention here that I adore it raw for some reason – it’s delicious!).
That said – I like to try everything at least once and a cauliflower mash has been on my “to-try list” ever since I saw Eva’s post. I gotta say – it was delicious – I was so impressed. The puréed cauliflower was rich, creamy and my wife even thought I’d added cheese to it! Not only this, but cauliflower has about a quarter the calories of potatoes which makes this a darn healthy mash (well, ok – it would have been until I piled in the butter!).
The bacon wrapped cod on top was delicious. Cod is nice, but let’s face it – it’s a white fish. It can be quite bland, so the bacon added a wonderful saltiness to the flavour, as well as making sure the fish didn’t get over-cooked. One recommendation – if you decide to give this a try, serve up some extra veg as well. Some chopped tomatoes maybe, or asparagus – something to bring a bit of variation and colour to the dish.
I’ll be back on the weekend I hope – have a good day everyone!
Bacon-wrapped Cod with Cauliflower Purée
Ingredients
- ~2-3 Cod Fillets
- Half a head of Cauliflower
- ~6 rashers of Bacon
- 100ml of Milk
- 25g Butter
- 3tbsps Sunflower Oil
- Salt and Pepper
- Chopped Spring Onions to garnish
You’ll also need
- An Immersion Blender
Instructions
- Start off by breaking the cauliflower into large florets. Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil and cook the cauliflower until it’s soft. While the cauliflower is cooking, cut the cod fillets into pieces, roughly the same length as a bacon rasher is wide. I cut the fillets in half lengthways and stacked two pieces on top of each other to get a more solid parcel. Wrap the cod in the bacon and then set aside.
- Once the cauliflower is ready, drain well before puréeing using an immersion blender. Add in the milk to loosen the mixture and stir well. Blend until smooth and then add in the butter, heating through until melted. Stir in freshly ground salt and pepper to taste.
- Heat the sunflower oil in a large frying pan before dropping in the bacon parcels. Fry for a few minutes on each side, turning regularly to ensure even cooking. Heat through the cauliflower purée again before serving out. Garnish with some chopped spring onions and, ideally, some other vegetable and enjoy!
Oh am I first! I really do like cauliflower, I don’t know why so many people don’t seem to. I’ve been making cauliflower mash whenever i want a less heavy side to something rich, this bacon-wrapped cod looks and I bet is delicious!
Hi Shuhan, I just can’t stand the stuff, but I was happily surprised by the mash (purée if you want to be fancy 😀 ) – I love it raw… I recently made a quick pickle using cauli after watching River Cottage Veg and that was fantastic… I should post it sometime.
That looks so delicious. And I actually love cauliflower (or should I keep that quiet?) What a great looking dinner and I love how you have wrapped the cod in that thin bacon xx
Haha, I’m starting to think I’m alone in my cauliflower hatred :D. I was pleased with the mash though… that’s definitely something to try again!
Thank you kindly for that lovely shout out, Charles. I am thrilled that I inspired you with my recipe and that you enjoyed it. It is a lovely alternative to the carb heavy potato; even the addition of butter is OK, but it is about balance. The fish with bacon is amazing isn’t it? I did this with halibut and prosciutto and it was absolutely incredible. And not too salty at all. We cooked on the BBQ in a cast iron pan; the prosciutto turned crisp as the fish cooked. It was wonderful.
Hope you’re having a great time with your family. And don’t be pressured to keep up; we’re not going anywhere.
Hi Eva, you’re more than welcome, and I’m so pleased I FINALLY got around to trying this. I can’t believe it took me about a year. You’re right – it’s a fantastic alternative to potato mash and SO filling too.
Love your idea of cooking it in the pan on a barbecue – I’ll have to save that one for when I have a barbecue one day (will need to get a house and garden first… all in good time :D)
Good idea will cook today for dinner! looks nom nom. thanks for sharing!
Thanks Bjoern 🙂
I am a huge lover of cauliflower, and this for me would be a huge favourite with so many fantastic flavours! Enjoy the company of your family…I have “gone dark” (love the expression!) for a week, but will post when I get back home!
Hi Chica – the more comments I read the more it seems that everyone adores cauliflower and it’s just me that can’t stand it :/ Maybe I just never had it cooked in a good way – how do you normally prepare it?
Quite often I just boil it and serve with olive oil and lemon juice but for a non cauli lover, you´ll probably need to do more. A great way is to partly cook it, then pour over some salt, crushed cumin, chili powder and olive oil and then put into a hot oven (or you can griddle it) until the outside starts to turn a little brown..yummy!
What?! You don’t like cauliflower? Revolting?? Cauliflower is one vegetable, along with broccoli that is always in my fridge or freezer! I hope you don’t eat it boiled…it’s nasty that way, but roasted, sautéed, Indian style, with pasta…yum. The mash is great too, maybe with some roasted garlic? Hope things are under control for you now, I am about to lose my sanity because my father in law arrives today…he’s the first of many guests this summer…..and my ducks are NOT in any kind of row.
Hi C&C – haha, broccoli I used to hate too when younger, but I’ve come around to that a lot recently, especially lightly roasted, or just blanched and then mixed with garlic and lemon juice. I made a post about that a while back and it’s delicious! As for cauliflower – you’re right, streamed/boiled is just very bad. I’ve had it curry roasted before, but it just seems too much, you know? I’ll need to experiment more!
I like cauliflower a lot. In my home we used to serve it cooked wit a pannier and butter on a top. It is delicious. But since I live far away from my parents I don’t eat it anymore. The whole meal looks amazing. And bacon must add a nice sharp taste to delicate a cauliflower puree.
Thanks Marta – it was a good meal, though my wife recommended the adding of something else, just to break up the flavours a bit… just a light side-salad or something like this!
I can’t decide if i like cauliflower or not. What a dilemma! Now a mash … more things to ponder over. But those bacon wrapped cod …. oh yes! I’ll take a truckload of those! Bacon, cod …. favorites on my list of favorites!
Thanks Ping – if you’re on the fence about cauliflower then you should definitely try it in mash form. I think you’ll find it quite agreable!
Oh I love cauliflower. Maybe because there are so many ways you can cook it, and it shines differently in each of them. I love mashed cauliflower, and it is one of my all time favs.
I like the bacon and fish wrap. Mnnnnn….delicious!
Thanks Minnie – I won’t be joining the cauliflower appreciation club anytime soon but I was definitely pleased with the mash – will be making it again 🙂
I hope you are enjoying your time with your guests! I know far too well how things come up and let the site go, but your are much better at posting and getting back with your followers than I am.
I definitely will have to try this, I love bacon and anything wrapped around it! I love cauliflower mash, I acatually sneak it into my mac n’ cheese! That is on my to do list to post!
Thanks Lisa – you’re very kind. I had a wonderful time with my parents, and my sister and niece are still here so we’ll be visiting some places on the weekend (which is very soon, oh my!).
My mom only ever cooked cauliflower one way, boiled til tender, then dipped in egg batter and fried. Not the healthiest way to serve a veggie that, in my opinion as a child, didn’t have a lot going for it in the first place. The only way I’ve ever made it as an adult is in a soup. I think that about says all I can contribute about cauliflower. 🙂
Cod … salted cod is good. I think a trip to Red Lobster for some fish is warranted soon. It’s too hot to cook today. 94 deg F with 90s for the next couple of days.
Mmm, fried in egg batter… now that sounds like something I could be on board with 😀
Beautiful! What a lovely dish! I must try this sometime 🙂
Thanks Jen – I do hope you get a chance to!
Oh I love cauliflower so I must give this puree a try. It’s bacon I’m not too fond of (I know, I know – a culinary crime!) 😉
Oh my God – I thought everyone on the internet loved bacon… it’s rare you find someone who isn’t a big fan… Aside from some vegetarians I know, I think you might be the only person I’ve ever heard of actually who doesn’t care for it! 😮
cauliflower puree! I love it! looks delicious and inviting
Thanks KB – definitely one to have again 🙂
Now why haven’t I thought to wrap fish in something bacon-y? I’ve done it with shrimp and scallops, but not fish and what a lovely idea! I’ve tried a cauliflower puree in the past and really liked it as I recall, but haven’t made it in a while. Great idea!
Thanks Betsy – There’s a fish called… I think, “Atlantic Wolf-fish”. Like cod it’s a bit endangered so I feel bad about buying it sometimes, but the fillets are fat and plump and would make an even better specimen to wrap in bacon!
Love love love the bacon wrapped cod – I bake mine with vine tomatoes and they are delicious! I’m not too keen on cauliflower either but I wouldn’t mind trying this – I’ll take your word for it 🙂
Thanks BA – baked vine tomatoes sounds like a fab addition to this – I felt it was missing a bit of zing… something a bit fresh tasting to break up the other flavours a bit!
You seriously must be telepathic! I saw your title and thought hmm. Cauliflower and cod not some of my favorites but your post addressed each of my concerns. I’m going to have to try this. Besides I’ll pretty much eat anything wrapped in bacon. Enjoy your family!!!!
Hi Kristy – I’m totally with you on the cauliflower, but I’m surprised you’re not a big fan of cod – it’s so innocuous. Do you like other white fish or do you find them all a bit funky?
You know, I like most other white fish now that I think of it. It’s just cod that I don’t really like. I’m not opposed to keep trying it new ways though. 🙂
Cauliflower puree sounds great! I am going to have to try it. Like the idea of wrapping fish with bacon as well.
Thanks Hyosun – for someone like me who’s not a huge fan of the beautiful white thing that is cauliflower this is a really nice way of serving it!
I’ve done cauliflower like this before and it’s one of my favs. I think it’s even better knowing it doesn’t have carbs as a potato would and it takes on whatever flavor you add to it. The celeriac would be lovely! And that cod.. I’m always looking for new ways to prepare fish.. I love that it’s wrapped in bacon! xo Smidge
Thanks Smidge – definitely, it’s so healthy compared to potatoes… the amount of calories in a huge pile of cauli mash is miniscule!
I absolutely love cauliflower, they are so versatile as evident from your recipe. This looks so delicious I can almost taste it just looking at your photos!
Thanks Jenny – I’m not a huge fan of cauli, but you’re right – you can do a lot, and mashing it makes it pretty good actually!
Do you think the ponytails would like the cauliflower mash? I must give it a try. I bet it went perfectly with the bacon-wrapped cod. I love Eva’s idea of cooking it in cast iron on the BBQ. It has been so hot here that this is a good suggestion. Enjoy your company and don’t worry about your schedule — remembeer this is our hobby!!!!!!
Hi Barb – you know, I think they would like it. You could either do 50/50 potato and cauliflower, or just not tell them what it was, or just add a bit of cheese or some spice like cumin. Sometimes, when confronted with funky cauliflower I end up almost wretching… and this was positively enjoyable!
That is some strong emotion over a fairly innocuous vegetable. How curious. Anyhow, I dig cauliflower prepared any old way and this is my kind of eating – tasty protein + veg. Yum!
Aah, in general, it should go the same was as iceberg lettuces… to the compost bin and banned from sale world-wide, although the mash is making me change my mind a little 😉
That’s a restaurant style food made easy 🙂
Thanks so much Kankana – what a compliment 🙂
The bacon wrapped cod sounds wonderful. I love cauliflowers and eat it often, I’ve never made cauliflower puree. Something to look forward to next!
Thanks Nami, and LOL – I literally just this second posted a comment on your BBQ rib post too, haha 😀
Wow, cauliflower is a vegetable which can be cooked in umpteen ways! But I never tried with bacon, so would love to try. Charles, the picture is extremely tempting!
Thanks Purabi – I hope you get a chance to give it a try!
Now you understand why I announced to my guests before they arrived that we were eating dinner out every night.
Got to try the cauliflower puree, I have used it mostly in stir fry (al dente). Agree with one of the previous comment, boiled and overcooked cauliflower is nasty.
Hi Norma – raw, or very al dente cauliflower is delicious actually… the flavour is completely different, but you’re right… boiled/steamed/over-cooked URGH cauliflower is just not good at all.
By the way, do you ever grow cauliflower? It’s such a beautiful veg – it must be quite satisfying to grow!
I tried growing it for more than one season but it was a hit or miss thing, never figured it out so I just gave up.
I love cod and I love bacon so I think I would love this!
If you love cod and bacon then I think you definitely would love this 🙂 Hope you’re having a great day Squishy 🙂
It looks gorgeous! A light, but not typically boring diet dish. I love it! I also love cauliflower. When I cook it I am able to end up eating the whole thing alone! Just blanched, without any sauce. I have never tried making cauliflower purée though, so thank you for this wonderful idea.
I like a lot celeriac purée, which I have discovered in France only a couple of years ago.
I must say cod is one of the rare fish I dislike (it was THE basic, cheap fish when I was a child and we constantly had it… so I have bad memories 😉 ). I imagine your dish would be great with many other white fish fillets too.
I don’t even mention bacon because my butcher has addictive lean, streaky bacon andI make bacon rolls all the time and also put it every Sunday on my okonomiyaki and other dishes… I love smoked bacon both the English type and the streaky one.
Thanks so much Sissi – it’s strange, for me when I was growing up, coley or hake were the common fishes and I just can’t stand them now, although as long as I buy it in its natural fillet form coley (lieu noir I think) is ok as a very simple white fish these days. I just can’t stand the little frozen square bricks of it!
I remember being shocked at your admission of eating cauliflower so easily once before – you’re a brave woman… I hope you try the mash though – it’s very enjoyable, even for a cauli-hater like me 😀
I hope you and your family are having a lovely time. If you are cooking for them, then I know they are eating well. Your meal sounds delicious. Your bacon is much meatier than what we get. I’m sure it adds a nice flavor to the cod.
Thanks so much Karen – my wife said to me when I made something quite simple but really tasty the other day: “Why do you always try to make really complicated stuff for your parents?”… it’s true, you know – I tried making something really complex which was a disaster on one of the days… I should just make simple stuff!
As for the bacon – For this recipe I would have actually preferred streaky bacon, with more fat, but I could only find the back bacon – oh well 🙂
You just hadddd to throw bacon in the picture, didn’t ya? I love fish, but it’s even better when wrapped in bacon! This looks fabulous. I ate at a restaurant this past weekend and had seared scallops with this tomato/bacon reduction drizzled on top. Now if only I could get my hands on that recipe…I’ll work on it. 🙂 Have a great weekend, Charles!
Hi Caroline – isn’t everything better with bacon? 😀 That tomato/bacon reduction sounds amazing. How was the bacon inside it… was it really chopped fine, or was it flavouring from bacon fat or…?
Looks rly tasty, I like this photo (https://test.homesweetsweden.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/IMG_3472-1024×683.jpg) very much )
This is something I can try here, since cod is the fish they sell everywhere in Ireland )
You totally should try it… I was surprised at how good the cauli mash was… damn tasty stuff!
This is fantastic. Katherine hates cauliflower though, so I think I’d serve this over grits or polenta. It’s just perfect as is, but you gotta make the spouse happy!
This looks seriously good, Charles!! Anything wrapped in bacon owns my heart easy!