This hearty Baked Creamy Fish and Prawns with Bacon is perfect accompanied with chive mash and a wild rocket salad.
Baked Creamy Fish and Prawns with Bacon
Serves 8
Ingredients:
1.3kg skinless monkfish fillets
500g prawns peeled, shells removed, deveined
100g butter
¼ cup plain flour
½ cup dry white wine
250ml pouring cream
250ml milk
200g gruyère cheese, grated
2 tbsp wholegrain mustard
1 tbsp horseradish cream
4 spring onions, chopped
1 cup fresh breadcrumbs
Bacon Topping
4 streaky bacon rashers, finely sliced
2 shallots, finely chopped
2 cups fresh breadcrumbs
1 cup flat-leaf parsley leaves, chopped
2 tbsp lemon rind, finely grated
50g butter, melted
Method:
Trim the monkfish pieces and cut into strips lengthwise. Roll the strips of fish up into a spiral and secure with a toothpick. Place on a tray and season to taste with salt and pepper. Leave to chill in refrigerator. Prepare the prawns and leave to chill.
Melt half of the butter in a saucepan over low heat. Stir in flour and mix until pale and foaming. Remove pan from heat and gradually whisk in the wine, cream and milk.
Return the pan to the heat and stir over a medium heat until the sauce thickens. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Add the cheese, mustard, horseradish, spring onions and breadcrumbs. Mix well and set aside.
Preheat oven to 180°C. Lightly grease a 10-cup cast-iron or ceramic ovenproof dish.
Melt the remaining butter in a large frying pan and cook the fish rolls in batches. Stir over low heat until the fish starts to change colour. Drain the fish on paper towels and then remove the toothpicks.
In the same frying pan, quickly cook the prawns until pink in colour on both sides.
Arrange the fish and prawns in the prepared baking dish. Pour over the sauce covering all the seafood, moving the sauce around to get good coverage on the fish.
For the topping, fry the bacon pieces and shallots in a non-stick frying pan until crispy. Remove pan from heat and mix in the breadcrumbs, parsley, and lemon rind. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Sprinkle crumb mixture over the seafood and sauce. Drizzle over the melted butter. Bake in oven for 35 minutes, or until the top is golden and the sauce bubbling.
Serve with garlic and chive mash and fresh wild rocket salad.
Reserve three cups for tomorrow’s lunch.