Baked Haddock with Onion and Bacon Crust

The old saying "there's lots of other fish in the sea" couldn't be more true. We picked up some haddock at Sprouts during our shopping trip on the weekend and since it was already frozen, popped it in the freezer for last night's dinner. Haddock (also known as Scrod) is a cold salt water fish from the North Atlantic that resembles cod.  Unfortunately last night's had a very strong fishy flavor so it wasn't quite what I expected it to be, and certainly not like any haddock I've had before; however, we can't blame it on the recipe.

Bacon was cooked until crisp then joined by sauteed finely chopped onion and soft bread crumbs. The fish received a slater of Dijon mustard followed by a little mayo and then topped with the bacon and onion crust. Baked in a hot oven for 15 minutes, it was perfectly cooked and the crust superb but then again how can it not be? It's BACON!

We had our fish with individual potatoes au gratin cooked super quick because I gave them a head start in the microwave. Cauliflower and broccoli rabe baked in the same pan that fried the bacon rounded out the dinner menu. We love our veggies roasted, but I have to tell you that broccoli rabe was incredible - with crispy ends and tender stalks. Yum! In hindsight, the plate could have used a touch more color, like maybe a tomato! Oh well, next time.

As for the fish, I can't wait to try this recipe again with some other creature from the sea like maybe halibut, cod or even tilapia. Imagine how tasty the coating would be on scallops or shrimp too, kind of like clams casino without the clams. Delectible no doubt.

 Baked Haddock with Onion and Bacon Crust (adapted from Gourmet via epicurious.com)

3 slices pepper bacon, chopped

1/2 cup finely chopped onion

1/2 cup soft fresh breadcrumbs

Salt and pepper to taste

1 teaspoon Dijon Mustard

2 teaspoons mayonnaise

2 6 ounce fillets of haddock, washed and dried

Preheat oven to 400. Wash and dry fish and place on sheet on parchment in a shallow pan (sheet pan). Set aside.

Cook bacon until crisp. Add the onion and cook until onion is transparent. Toss bacon and onion together with fresh breadcrumbs and season with salt and pepper. Coat top of fish with a layer of Dijon mustard followed by the mayonnaise. Press crumbs onto fish. Bake for 15 minutes or until fish is cooked.  Serves 2

 

Comments

[Mags]

You just voiced why I'm so scared of fish. Whenever I stumble across a piece that tastes "fishy" I shy away from all fish for a long time.

The recipe itself looks delicious!

[Nanan]

That looks fabulous - I hate it when fish is fishy... sorry that happened to you... and - no - you really didn't need a tomato - but - that is just my humble opinion... hehehehehe

[June]

Mags - I know what you mean. I just didn't want to give up. I should have used tilapia because it's so mild, I've never been disappointed.

Lea - the coating is darn good and the tomato would have been for color only. LOL