Thursday 7 July 2011

Mackerel Baked With Sage and Bacon

Mackerel Baked With Sage and Bacon (for 2)
Recipe with courtesy of Waitrose 


Ingredients
2 mackerel, de-boned into 4 fillets with all small bones removed. Cut each fillet into two lengthways. Skin is left on.
8 slices of rindless streaky bacon
16 fresh sage leaves
1 tbsp olive oil
Method
Preheat the oven to 220°C, (428°F gas mark 7)

Plaster 2 sage leaves onto each fillet, then wrap bacon around it. A sage leaf should protrude from each side of the bacon. Season with salt and pepper and brush with a little olive oil.
Place the fish on a baking tray, skin-side up. (I sprayed the tray with non-stick spray.)   Bake for 15 minutes till the skin and bacon are crisp. 

I cooked this in the UK and my sage plants are in France, so I did use dry sage. Next time I cook this, I will make sure that I use fresh sage leaves. I also only had back bacon on hand but I think streaky would have been better.

We both enjoyed this dish and the bacon was a delicious addition to the flavour of the fish.
Enjoy.

61 comments:

  1. Hello Diane:
    This all sounds, and we are sure tastes, absolutely delicious. We love Mackerel and the combination with sage and bacon would, we are sure be wonderful.

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  2. I know I would enjoy this, Diane. It sounds delicious. I hope you have a great day. Blessings...Mary

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  3. Jane and Lance, this one is really worth trying if you like mackerel. It gave it a flavour that was quite different but really delicious. Diane

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  4. Mary I am sure you would enjoy this, it was really very good. Take care. Diane

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  5. This dish makes me mouth watering, look so delicious!

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  6. i wonder how does sage taste on fish? thanks for the inspiration!

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  7. Sonia it is delicious and certainly worth trying. Diane

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  8. Lena the sage and the bacon are a perfect combination with mackerel, it was very good. Diane

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  9. That looks and sounds delicious. We've been on a tear with rainbow trout recently. I wonder if it would work with that?

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  10. Craig I have no idea, but trout has a more delicate flavour so sage and bacon may drown the taste of the trout. Please let me know the result if you should try it out. We also love trout and it is one of the easiest fishes to de-bone. Diane

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  11. This looks delicious and so simple, yet sophisticated too. Definitely one for us to try as we often see mackerel for sale and never quite know what to do with it.

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  12. Jean we really enjoyed mackerel cooked like this, there is no doubt that I will cook it like this again. Hope you enjoy. Diane

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  13. Excellent recipe. I'll have to resist the bacon, seeing as I've given up meat. You're always tempting me with food :)

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  14. Olga is there not a substitute for bacon? I know there are many vegan substitutes for all sorts of things. Not being vegetarian I have never really looked for them. Diane

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  15. Now, that must have been quite tasty. Bet you can use the same method for trout, tilapia, or any delicate fish.

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  16. p.s. I can grow dill here that I was not able to grow in Southern Cal. Certain herbs are fussy. I have to purchase fresh basil, for instance, as it needs to grow in warmer temps. All this can frustrate a gardener like myself who likes to pop out on the deck and pinch out the herbs she wants.

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  17. Rosaria I don't really know how it would work with other fish. I think mackerel has quite strong flavour and the sage and bacon work well with it. If you try it out on other fish please let me know how it goes. Diane

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  18. Rosaria I agree it is so nice to have the herbs fresh from the garden. I find most things grow well here in France (well when we get rain!) I have not got the space for them in the UK, other than in pots, and somehow they do not seem to grow as well and I need to replace quite often. Diane

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  19. I love the combination of fish and sage. So lovely.
    Sam

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  20. Bacon and mackerel are both regular purchases for me, but I hadn't thought of putting them together before. Now I will!

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  21. Sam try adding the bacon as well and I am sure you will enjoy. Diane

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  22. GaynorB it is a really good combination I am sure you will enjoy it. Diane

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  23. I love just any type of fish and the bacon is a real treat. I might try that one day, thanks for sharing Diane.

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  24. chubskulit I am sure you would enjoy, it is an excellent dish. Diane

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  25. I've only ever had mackeral in a can, lol. This fresh mackeral looks wonderful. Have a great weekend!

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  26. Joyful I am not sure that I had ever had fresh mackerel until we went to the UK!! You have a great weekend also. Diane

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  27. Oh, it sounds delicious! I love bacon!

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  28. Yum it looks superb - I must search out mackerel in our market - I don't remember seeing it before - maybe I could substitute. Ihe wrapping of bacon would add a wonderful flavour.

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  29. Deb from WhatsInMyAttic, I thought it was pretty wonderful :-) Diane

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  30. Marjie this is a dish I will make over and over we really enjoyed. Diane

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  31. I've never had mackerel but this sounds delicious.

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  32. Dianne I never saw fresh Mackerel in S.Africa so not sure if you will see it in Australia. It is a fish that needs to be eaten the same day it is caught, and the shops in the UK always have large supple as it is not expensive. It is quite an oily fish, so I think this dish really needs something with a slightly stronger flavour or the fish taste may be taken over completely by the sage and bacon. Worth looking around for something similar I would say. Diane

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  33. Bo I am sure you could try this with any oily fish it was very good. Diane

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  34. Might just try this sometime, thanks Diane.

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  35. Linda I am sure you will enjoy, I know we did. Diane

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  36. Interesting. This seems easy to do. We might attempt cooking this one the soonest we get an oven. Thanks for the recipe! :)

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  37. Bacon has a way of bringing so much flavor to a dish. Delicious. When you mentioned not having fresh sage handy. I thought wow, I have plenty of fresh sage. It is the one herb, that grows well in backyard.

    Great looking meal. Thanks for sharing.

    Velva

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  38. Ramona Andresa, thank you for your comment and for following my blog. You are right this is a very simple dish to do, the hardest part is the de-boning which is not very difficult. Diane

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  39. Velva basil grows in my French garden like a weed, I just have not got the room in the UK garden. As I am only there for winter it is not worth trying to get everything growing in pots. Diane

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  40. Bravo Diane, what a way to serve the fish & meat together! I bet this is so flavourful. Thanks for sharing & hope you're enjoying your weekend.
    Blessings, Kristy

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  41. Thanks Kristy, Hope you also have a good weekend. Diane

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  42. Holy mackerel! I bet this is delicious! Sage on fish is new to me but it has to go together beautifully. I've never had fresh mackerel and have to find some to try this. Not sure what streaky bacon is though.

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  43. Pam streaky bacon is bacon that is literally streaked with fat rather than the back bacon that I used which has less fat. Hope you can find some fresh mackerel and that you can try this out. Take care Diane

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  44. I must say that I do not like to mix fish and meat.. while everyone else in my family does...this one though looks wonderful and.. I have lots of sage in the garden .
    bon weekend

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  45. Anni I have to agree I would normally never mix fish and meat, but this was an exceptionally tasty dish. Have a good weekend. Diane

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  46. I never thought to use sage with fish, but I am really into sage lately and my sage plant is huge right now! It sounds so good I'm going to try it this way! Thanks Diane!

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  47. Lyndsey, I have three sage plants here in France they are all pretty big but one is just huge! Hope you enjoy the recipe it really is very good. Diane

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  48. How lucky are you to spend time in France(I am about 20000+ km away from it)but oh if I win Loto I will also come to France for a bit:)
    Thank you for posting recepie for mackerel.Your combiantion is fantastic.I only recently discovered fusion of fish and meat.It was braised snapper with caramelized pork belly.In the beginning I was so sceptic( tastes we are thought stay in our head) , but I ate it and I loved it;)

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  49. Dear Diane, What a delicious recipe, I will try ir for sure. Sorry you couldn't understand my last recipe, it's a very heavy soup made with poultry, beef, sausages of different types, plus vegetables , the soup is served appart from the food and it can be taken to table in a baked pumpkin

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  50. Thanks Pamela, I thought that I commented that I liked the way it was served in the pumpkin, it was not (I don't think) a misunderstanding. Hope you enjoy the mackerel and bacon . Take care have a good Sunday Diane

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  51. Dzoli, I would never have thought of serving meat and fish together but this was a perfect combination. Thank you so much for your visit, I hope one day you get your dream to come to France :-) Diane

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  52. This recipe looks delicious. I have just discovered your blog and am now following. You have some lovely recipes posted too. Fifi

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  53. Fifi B Thanks so much for your visit, great to 'meet' you. This recipe, to me, was exceptional we really did enjoy it. Hope you do to if you try it out. Thanks for following, see you soon :-) Diane

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  54. I would have to substitute tofu bacon, although I do love to eat fish. Mackerel is so good for you. Just catching up on emails now, after my visit home!

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  55. Dolly I have never heard of tofu bacon - interesting. Diane

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  56. Yes, you can get all manner of tofu or soy products to replace meat ingredients: fake chicken fillets, mince, bacon, sausages etc. I enjoy them all :)

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  57. peachkins, thanks for your visit. If you like bacon and also fish I highly recommend this recipe, it is very good. Diane

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  58. Thank you verymuch for the delicious recipe!!!
    Amities

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  59. Magda it is a pleasure, I hope that you enjoy. Diane

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