Monkfish Provincial Recipes

MONKFISH PROVINCIAL

Steps:

• In a resealable plastic bag, mix the salt, pepper, Cajun seasoning, and flour. Place the monkfish in the bag, seal, and shake to lightly coat.
• Heat the oil and melt the butter in a skillet over medium heat. Place the monkfish in the skillet, and cook for about 3 minutes. Mix in the garlic, tomato, and mushrooms, and continue cooking 3 minutes. Mix in the wine and parsley. Continue to cook and stir 2 minutes, or until the monkfish flakes easily with a fork.

MONKFISH WITH SPINACH

Steps:

• Prepare the sauce: Combine heavy cream with garlic and anchovies. Boil this down until it gets thick--approximately 1 hour. (If it seems too thick, thin it out with water, chicken stock or more cream.)
• Cut the fillet into scallops and salt evenly on both sides. Allow them to sit for a half hour so that they will drain. After a half hour, dry off the liquid and brush off salt. Nick all around the edges of the fillets with a sharp knife. This allows the fillets to stay flat and cook more evenly.
• Heat the clarified butter in a saute pan. Coat fillets with instant or granulated flour, and then saute in clarified butter. The fillets should develop a crunch on the outside.
• Lightly steam the spinach and place on a plate. Dry off fillets on a towel and place them on a nest of spinach.
• Combine the minced tomatoes and the sherry vinegar and place the mixture on top of the fish.
• Drizzle cream sauce on top of the tomato concasse and then drape sauce around the plate.
• Wine: A young, fruity Saint Amour Beaujolais from Georges DuBeouf

MONKFISH à LA PROVENçALE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 425 degrees. Cover a baking sheet with parchment and place eggplant on top. Season with salt to taste and toss with 2 tablespoons olive oil. Place in oven on middle rack and roast for 15 minutes, stirring halfway through. Remove from oven and reduce heat to 375 degrees.
• Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a heavy lidded skillet or casserole and add onions and pepper. Cook, stirring often, until just about tender, about 5 minutes.
• Add minced garlic and cook, stirring, until fragrant, 30 seconds to a minute. Add zucchini and roasted eggplant, and stir together. Season generously with salt and pepper and add 1/2 bay leaf, 1/2 teaspoon rosemary and 1/2 teaspoon thyme. When vegetables are sizzling, cover pan, reduce heat to low, and simmer 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in the tomato. Taste and adjust seasonings.
• Meanwhile, oil a large baking dish or gratin (large enough to accommodate ratatouille and fish). Season monkfish on both sides with salt and pepper. Make a few slits in the top and insert garlic slices. Place fish in baking dish, rounded side up.
• Sprinkle shallots around fish. Drizzle 1 tablespoon olive oil over fish and sprinkle with remaining rosemary and thyme. Break up remaining bay leaf into a few pieces and scatter over fish. Pour wine into baking dish and place in oven for 25 minutes.
• Remove baking dish from oven and carefully transfer fish to the baking sheet you used for the eggplant. Pour off liquid in baking dish and discard.
• Transfer ratatouille to baking dish and place fish on top. Return to oven and bake 10 to 15 minutes, or until fish is completely opaque and can be pulled from the bone. Monkfish won't flake apart like other white-fleshed fish; the texture is similar to cooked lobster. Remove from oven. Remove pieces of bay leaf, then garnish with basil and serve.

MONKFISH WITH CAPER BUTTER

Steps:

• Remove any gray membrane from the fish. Mix flour and mustard together and season with salt and pepper. Dip the fish slices in seasoned flour on one side only and arrange on a plate, floured side up.
• Melt the butter in a small skillet. Add the shallots and cook on medium until both the butter and shallots have browned and acquired a nutty aroma. Do not allow them to blacken. Remove from heat, stir in capers, season with salt and pepper and set aside.
• Warm 6 dinner plates or a platter. Heat olive oil in a large skillet, preferably cast iron. When very hot, add the fish medallions, floured side down, and sauté until they turn golden, no more than a minute or so. Transfer them, cooked side up, to the plates or platter.
• Briefly warm the caper sauce. Add the lemon juice and tarragon and spoon a little of the sauce over each medallion. Garnish with lemon wedges and serve.