oh, mh … seeing this picture and remembering the flavor is simply mouthwatering! wanna have it again, very soon. fortunately the chard season is very long. from early summer to autumn. and  potatoes are easily storable after harvesting until the next spring.

i never thought that the chards’ flavor does not disappear when combining it with mashed potatoes. but when i bought the magazin “essen & trinken spezial – die grosse urlaubskueche” to entertain myself during a train ride and discovered this recipe, i decided to give it a chance. and it turned out to be a good decision. i am very happy about the discovery of this combination of chard and potatoes … and not to speak of the fish!

it is baked in a papillote on a bed of fresh bacon and dried tomatoes on the top. this makes the fish very aromatic, juicy and fruity. sounds good, tastes good and looks good.

the recipe is for four. in the fish selection you are relatively free as long as it is a white and firm fish. the original recipe is with loup de mer. we had some monkfish instead and i adapted some other parts of the recipe as well.

fish:

8 cloves of garlic
3 branches thyme
3 branches sage
4 bay leaves
4 slices fresh bacon (green bacon)
4 fish filets (à 200 g, without skin)
sea salt
white pepper

chard and potato mash:

800 g potatoes
650 g chard
5 tbsp olive oil
salt

tomato fond topping:

20 g dried tomatoes
100 ml fish or vegetable fond
pinch of sugar
3 branches parsley
zests of 1 lemon

slice the garlic and chop the thyme and sage leaves. sprinkle the herbs and garlic over the bacon. season with some pepper. season the fish filets with sea salt and wrap with the bacon. if your bacon slices are too small to wrap simply set the fish on the bacon slices. add one bay leave on top of each fish and bacon parcel. transfer the parcels onto a piece of baking or pergament paper each, fold and close.

preheat the oven to 180° C and bake for about 30 minutes.

peel the potatoes and cut into pieces. boil in salted water until tender. wash the chard and remove the stems. add the chard to the boiling potatoes about two minutes before the potatoes are done. drain the potatoes and chard but save about 100 ml of the cooking liquid. you will need the cooking liquid to mash the potatoes and chard together with 5 tbsp of olive oil. season to taste with some salt if necessary.

to prepare the tomato fond topping, finely chop the dried tomatoes and bring to a boil together with the olive oil, sugar, salt and pepper. combine it with the chopped parsley and the lemon zests.

to serve, remove the fish from the papillote. pour some tomato fond on top of each and serve with the chard and tomato mash. if you like, a chilled glass of white wine would be a perfect company to this light and aromatic dish.

bon appétit!