Stuffed bream wrapped with bacon
- 2 small, whole bream, or similar fish such as porgy (scup), scaled and gutted
- 20 slices of bacon
- olive oil for drizzling
- few sprigs of fresh thyme
- 4 garlic cloves, skin on, halved
- lemon wedges for serving (optional)
- 7 ounces fresh, bulk pork sausage (or pork sausage links with casing removed)
- leaves stripped from a sprig of fresh thyme
- small handful each of fresh flat-leaf parsley and chives, chopped
- pinch of cayenne pepper
- few drops of lemon juice
Instructions:
Stuffing fish with forcemeat is a classic idea that even featured in Mrs. Beeton’s recipes in the 1800s.
- Preheat the oven to 425°F. Mix all the ingredients for the forcemeat and set aside.
- Clean the fish and pat dry with paper towels. Rub all over with a little salt and pepper, then stuff the gutted cavities of each bream with the forcemeat.
- For each fish, take 10 bacon slices and lay them out in chevrons on a cutting board, crossing each pair over at the base of its “V.” Put the fish in the middle and wrap the bacon around it to secure the forcemeat, alternating left and right.
- Place the fish in a shallow roasting pan. Drizzle some olive oil over the fish and scatter sea salt, thyme, and garlic halves on top. Bake until the bacon is golden brown and crisp and the fish is cooked through, 25–30 minutes, turning the fish over halfway through the cooking. Serve with lemon wedges, if you like.