Piquant Monkfish Recipes

PIQUANT MONKFISH

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 200°C/fan180°C/gas 6. In a bowl, mix together the anchovies, capers, parsley and lemon zest. Season.
• Slightly overlap 2 slices of Parma ham lengthways. Spread a quarter of the anchovy mixture down the middle. Top with a fish fillet and wrap the ham around to enclose it. Repeat with the remaining ham and fish.
• Place the tomatoes and onions on a large baking tray, drizzle with the oil and bake for 5 minutes. Add the fish parcels to the tray and roast for 15 minutes, until cooked through.
• Remove the monkfish parcels to a warm plate and pour the vinegar over the tomatoes and onions.
• Divide the tomatoes, onions and monkfish between plates. Drizzle with any juices from the baking tray and scatter with rocket to serve.

GRILLED OR ROASTED MONKFISH WITH BLACK OLIVE SAUCE AND LEMON MASH

Steps:

• In a pestle and mortar or Flavour Shaker, smash up 2 teaspoons of salt with the lemon zest and rosemary and rub this all over the fish fillets. Put the fillets in a dish in the fridge and let them sit there for an hour.
• Now make your black olive sauce by mixing all the ingredients except the vinegar together. You want the sauce to have the consistency of a coarse salsa. Then carefully balance the flavours with the vinegar to taste.
• If you're roasting your monkfish, preheat your oven to 220°C/425°F/gas 7 just before the fish comes out of the fridge. Pat the fish dry with some kitchen paper and then pat it with a little olive oil.
• Peel and halve your potatoes. Put them into a pot of salted, boiling water and cook until tender. Then drain and mash up with 6 tablespoons of olive oil and a good swig of milk. Season to taste with salt, pepper and lemon juice. If you want to get your mash really smooth and creamy you can use a spatula to push the potato through a sieve once or twice. It doesn't make it taste any better but it will make it silky smooth, shiny and lovely. Just depends if you can be bothered, really. If it needs thinning with a little extra milk, feel free.
• To roast the monkfish, heat a large ovenproof frying pan, add a splash of olive oil and fry the fillets in the pan for 2 minutes. Then turn them over and put the pan in your preheated oven for 6 to 8 minutes, depending on the thickness of the fillets.
• To grill, place the the butterflied fillets on a hot griddle pan and cook for about 3 minutes on each side, depending on the thickness. Whichever way you cook it serve the fish and the juices with a good dollop of the mashed potato, the black olive sauce and a little rocket dressed with the extra virgin olive oil, lemon juice and salt and pepper. Really, really good.

BAKED FISH FILLETS PIQUANT

Steps:

• Marinate fish fillets for 1 hours in wine.
• Drain fillets on paper towels.
• Dip both sides of fish in crumbs.
• Arrange in greased shallow baking dish.
• Mix Mayonnaise, onion, sour cream, and spread evenly over fish.
• Cover with thin layer of crumbs.
• Dust with paprika.
• Bake at 500 degrees F for 10 minutes or until fish flakes.