Lotte rôtie au lard – monkfish in a bacon coat, rosemary & white beans

Name: Lotte rôtie au lard – monkfish in a bacon coat, rosemary & white beans
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 55 min
Yield: 4 people
Cuisine: French
Ingredients: 800 g monkfish fillet (cleaned, skinned); 12 thin slices of smoked bacon (or pancetta); 2 sprigs rosemary; 40 g butter; 3 tbsp olive oil; 2 tins of white beans (400 g each, drained) — or 250 g dried, soaked overnight and cooked; 1 shallot, finely diced; 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped; 100 ml poultry or vegetable stock; 1 bay leaf; zest of 1 organic lemon; salt, freshly ground pepper

Monkfish is the fish that behaves like meat: firm, slightly sweet, with real bite. Wrapped in a thin coat of bacon over creamy white beans it becomes a calm main course that calls for a white wine with substance — nothing fragile.

Fish & Seafood category

30 MIN Vorbereitung

25 MIN Kochzeit

4 people portions

Zutaten

800 g monkfish fillet (cleaned, skinned)
12 thin slices of smoked bacon (or pancetta)
2 sprigs rosemary
40 g butter
3 tbsp olive oil
2 tins of white beans (400 g each, drained) — or 250 g dried, soaked overnight and cooked
1 shallot, finely diced
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
100 ml poultry or vegetable stock
1 bay leaf
zest of 1 organic lemon
salt, freshly ground pepper

Perfect Pairing

Louré

Perfect Pairing

Prélude

Lotte rôtie au lard – monkfish in a bacon coat, rosemary & white beans

Zubereitung

Starting the beans

Sweat the shallot and garlic in 1 tbsp olive oil until translucent. Add the beans, bay leaf and stock and simmer gently over low heat for 15 minutes until creamy. Season with salt, pepper and a little lemon zest, keep warm.

Wrapping the fish

Pat the monkfish dry, season with salt and pepper. Top with rosemary and a few flakes of butter, wrap tightly in the bacon slices and secure at intervals with kitchen string.

Searing & into the oven

Preheat the oven to 200 °C (top/bottom heat). Sear the bacon coat all over in 2 tbsp olive oil for 2–3 minutes until golden, then cook in the oven for 18–20 minutes, basting several times with the fat. Core temperature about 52 °C.

Resting & serving

Let the fish rest for 5 minutes, remove the string and cut into thick slices. Arrange on the white beans and drizzle with the pan juices.

Why this wine?

To Louré:

The Louré has exactly the stature this dish needs. Its long ageing in amphora gives it a silky depth that carries the firm fish and the smoky bacon, while the fine acidity catches the butter. A light aperitif white would be lost here.

To Prélude:

For something fresher, reach for the Prélude. Its barrique-aged Malbec rosé brings saline minerality and a cool counterpoint to the bacon — and makes the white beans seem brighter.