I've made this recipe twice and it's so amazing that I had to share it. The first time I made it I didn't take any pictures because I had no idea how it was going to turn out, and the second time I made it I did it a little differently, but I'll explain later.
This recipe is from Jamie Oliver's
Happy Days with the Naked Chef with a few of my own changes.
What you'll need:
- 1 lb meaty white fish (I used tilapia)
- 1 artisan loaf of bread such as ciabatta or sourdough, crusts removed
- fresh rosemary twigs with leaves attached (can you even buy them without the leaves? I don't know why you would want to, but just to cover my bases)
- 1 clove garlic, peeled
- extra virgin olive oil
- salt and pepper
- a few slices of prosciutto or bacon
- 1-2 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar (optional)
Preheat oven to 425 degrees
Cut whitefish into 1-inch cubes and place in a large bowl
Remove crust and rip up bread into similar sized pieces. Add to bowl with fish.
Keeping the top inch or so of rosemary leaves, run your fingers down the stalk, removing the leaves. Set stalks aside and place leaves into bowl with chopped garlic. Add 5-6 tablespoons of olive oil and mix together. Pour this mixture over the bread and fish, stirring gently to make sure everything is covered.
Here's where I did it differently this time. You are supposed to skewer the fish and bread onto the rosemary stalks, alternating fish, bread, fish, bread, etc. I did this the first time and it was amazing. The second time (when I took the pictures) the stalks kept breaking on me, so I said forget it and threw it all into a pan, casserole style. While still delicious, I would definitely recommend skewering the bread and fish. The flavors blend better, and the fish keeps the bread softer than it did just sitting in a pan.
(If they were on skewers) wrap the prosciutto around each kabob, weaving it in and out of the fish. Or if you're doing it in a pan, throw some randomly on top. Make sure it looks pretty. Sprinkle with any leftover rosemary/garlic/olive oil mixture and bake for 15-20 minutes until the bread is crisp and golden brown.
*before baking you can season with salt and pepper, however I found that the prosciutto gives plenty of saltiness and that more salt wasn't needed. You can also drizzle a little bit of balsamic vinegar on each piece of fish. I forgot to do this the first time, did it the second time, and decided I liked it better without the vinegar, but it's a personal taste thing.
To eat, simply slide off the skewers (or get a large spoon and heap it onto your plate if you're cooking it in the pan.) So yummy, I think I'm going to have to make it again after writing this and staring at the pictures. Excuse me while I go stuff my face...
