Bacon-Wrapped Cod w/ Rosemary and Roasted Fingerling Potatoes

I've been going through a major rosemary phase lately.  I mean, I've always loved rosemary...just like I love pretty much any herb...but I always wind up getting a crush on one particular herb for a certain period of time.   When that happens, I just can't get enough of it.  Right now, rosemary is the object of my affection.  Maybe it's all the talk of Tuscany lately.  Of course, I've been talking of Tuscany for years, so maybe not.  But something triggered it, and I believe I'll just enjoy this crush while it lasts and stop over-analyzing.  I've been trying to eat more consciously lately.  I want to add more fish and seafood back into my diet.  Our diets.  The difficulty in that is the lack of seafood-lovers (or even toleraters) in my  house.  While everybody is pretty open and willing to try most things around here...I get shot down at fish constantly.  I happen to love it.  I blame it on the fact that we are nowhere near the ocean.  If we lived near the ocean, they would smell the sea and taste the sea and they'd be begging me to bring it to their plates.  However, we do live close enough to some great lakes that you'd think at least trout or bluegill would be accepted willingly.  And you know, it might.  I just realize that I'm a horrible mom who never takes her kids fishing.  Okay, I didn't just realize...but I did just put it in writing.  I mean...I fished as a kid.  I caught crazy turtles and snakes and got chased around my grandma's farm by my cousin with a still-moving fish head on the end of a stick.  Why, oh why haven't I given my children the same opportunity?  Because I don't have any fishing poles.  Or a fishing license.  Or a hubs who enjoys fishing.  Aaahhh...  Anyway, my actual point being that I'm trying slowly but surely to introduce new (to the fam) types of fish and seafood into our diet.  When I can find good, fresh fish or seafood...it's going to make its way onto our plates and into our bellies.  What better way to start than to wrap in something everybody loves?  I mean, we all know that bacon makes everything better.  I found a great bacon-wrapped Cod recipe from Jamie's Food Revolution that worked wonders.  Simple, delicious, full of gorgeous flavors...and when I paired it with some beautiful potatoes...the response was "mmmmpppfff...nnnommm...chewwww...rrrmmmppphh..." {<----- my lame attempt at happy eating noises}.

Bacon-Wrapped Cod w/ Rosemary
and Roasted Fingerling Potatoes

1 chunky cod filet, per person (~7 oz., skin on or off)
3 slices bacon*, per person
2 sprigs rosemary, per person + extra for potatoes
olive oil
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
small handful Fingerling potatoes (any variety), per person

Preheat oven to 475° F.  Line a large sheet tray with foil or parchment.

preparing fingerlings:  Slice any thicker potatoes in half, lengthwise.  Bring a pot of salted water to a boil with potatoes.  Let bubble gently for ~5 minutes.  You want them to just start getting tender.  They will finish cooking in the oven and get some nice, golden edges, as well.  Drain and set aside while preparing cod.

preparing cod: Pick leaves from one of the stems of rosemary for each person, then chop them up fairly finely.  Sprinkle a bit of salt and pepper over the rosemary, then drizzle it all with olive oil and mix it up with your fingers.  Roll each piece of cod in the mixture until they're coated all around with the mixture.  Set aside.

Lay three slices of bacon down next to each other, slightly overlapping and then place a slice of cod on top (skin side up) and wrap the bacon around, leaving the "seam" on the bottom or bottom edge.  Place on prepared sheet pan.  Repeat with all of the cod and bacon.  Set the second (still whole) sprig of rosemary for each serving on the top of the bacon-wrapped fish and drizzle a bit more olive oil over each.  Try to keep all of your fish on one side of the sheet pan, if there's enough room to still leave a little space between each.

both:  Transfer the slightly cooled potatoes to the other half of the prepared sheet tray.  Drizzle with a bit of olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper...and chop a little extra rosemary and throw that on, too.  Toss them around with your fingers a bit, then slide the whole tray into the oven.  If you have too many servings to put both on the same tray, then use two trays.

Slide the tray(s) into the oven and cook for ~10-12 minutes, until the fish is cooked all the way through and the bacon and potatoes are golden with bits of crisp edges.

Serve one bacon-wrapped piece of cod per person with the fingerlings divided amongst each plate.

*You may want to cook your bacon about halfway through before doing this step.  If your bacon is particularly thick, it may not get done by the time the fish is ready...and there's not much worse than over-cooked fish.  If you decide to do this, you could use the rendered fat to toss the potatoes with just before they go into the oven, in place of the olive oil.

Our theme at IHCC this week is Mad About Herbs!

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