Roast Monkfish With Crisp Potatoes Olives And Bay Leaves Recipes

MONKFISH ROASTED WITH HERBS AND OLIVES

Steps:

• Tie the monkfish fillets with butcher's twine at 2-inch intervals. Season with salt and pepper.
• Line the bottom of an earthenware or other low-sided baking dish with thyme and rosemary sprigs. Tuck bay leaves here and there, if using. Lay the fish on top of the herbs and drizzle with 2 tablespoons olive oil. Scatter the lemon slices and whole olives over fish. Set aside for 30 minutes to marinate. Heat oven to 425 degrees.
• Meanwhile, make the olive paste: Put pitted black olives, garlic and 1/4 cup olive oil in a small food processor and pulse to a rough paste. (Alternatively, chop olives finely with a knife and stir together with garlic and oil.)
• Roast fish, uncovered, for 15 to 20 minutes, until lightly browned on top and firm to the touch. Check with a paring knife to be sure fish is cooked through. Let rest for 5 to 10 minutes.
• Snip twine with scissors and remove from fish. Cut fish into 4 portions and spoon some of the roasted lemon slices and whole olives over the top. Dab each piece with a teaspoon of olive paste, or pass olive paste separately.

ROASTED MONKFISH WITH CURRIED LENTILS AND BROWNED BUTTER CAULIFLOWER

Steps:

• For sauce:
• Bring first 4 ingredients to boil in medium saucepan. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer until cauliflower is very tender, about 17 minutes. Cool slightly. Transfer mixture to blender; add 3 tablespoons water and puree until smooth. Season with salt and pepper. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover; chill. Rewarm over medium heat, stirring, and adding more water to thin sauce, if desired.)
• For lentils and browned butter cauliflower:
• Heat oil in medium saucepan over medium heat. Add onion, carrots, and celery; sauté until soft, about 8 minutes. Add lentils, curry, and paprika; stir 1 minute. Add 2 1/2 cups water; bring to boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer until lentils are tender, stirring occasionally, about 30 minutes. Uncover; stir until liquid is absorbed, about 5 minutes.
• Meanwhile, cook butter in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until browned, about 2 minutes. Add cauliflower; sauté until beginning to brown, about 5 minutes. Add 1/4 cup water; cover and cook until cauliflower is crisp-tender and water evaporates, about 3 minutes longer. Stir in lentil mixture. Season with salt and pepper. (Can be made 2 hours ahead. Let stand at room temperature. Rewarm before serving.)
• For gremolata:
• Mix parsley and lemon peel in bowl. Season with salt and pepper.
• For fish:
• Sprinkle monkfish with salt and pepper. Heat oil in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add fish; sauté until just opaque in center, about 6 minutes per side.
• Divide sauce among 4 plates. Spoon lentil mixture alongside. Place fish atop lentils; sprinkle with gremolata.
• *Available at specialty foods stores and some supermarkets.

ROASTED MONKFISH

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.
• Heat the oil in a skillet over high heat until hot but not smoking. Add the monkfish, shaking the pan as you add the fish to prevent sticking. Sear the fish on one side until golden brown, about 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer to the oven and roast until opaque and firm to the touch, about 8 minutes.
• Transfer the fish to a warm plate and set aside. Place the skillet over medium heat and add the wine or vermouth and 1/4 cup water, scraping the browned bits from the pan. Add the Chunky Cipolline Tomato Compote to the skillet and cook until heated through.
• Season to taste with salt and pepper. Spoon the compote among 4 dinner plates, arrange a piece of the monkfish over the compote, and serve.

OVEN ROASTED MONKFISH WITH CLAMS AND MERGUEZ SAUSAGE

Steps:

• For the monkfish: Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large saute pan over medium-high heat. Season the monkfish with salt and pepper to taste. Sear on both sides until lightly golden brown. Place the fish in a small roasting pan and roast in the oven for 12 to 15 minutes.
• For the potatoes: Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Toss potatoes in olive oil in season with salt and pepper to taste. Roast for 10 to 15 minutes, until just cooked through and lightly golden brown. .
• For the sausage: Preheat grill or grill pan. Grill the sausage until golden brown and cooked through. Let rest and cut into 1/2-inch slices.
• For the clam broth: Heat oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the onions and cook until soft. Add the garlic and cook for 2 minutes. Increase the heat to high, add wine and cook until reduced. Add broth and bring to a boil. Add clams, cover the pot and cook until the clams open, remove the clams with a slotted spoon to a bowl. Cook the broth until reduced by half. Add the tomatoes and cook for 2 minutes. Whisk in the butter, add the scallions and season with salt and pepper to taste.
• Assemble: Cut the roasted monkfish into 4 pieces. Place a small amount of spinach in each bowl. Place a piece of monkfish on top of spinach and place 3 potatoes, 3 pieces of merguez and 3 clams around the edge. Ladle broth over and garnish with fresh parsley.

PAN-ROASTED MONKFISH WITH WILD MUSHROOM STUFFED YUKON GOLD POTATOES, SAUTEED SPINACH AND RED WINE SAUCE

Steps:

• In a small bowl, combine salt, pepper, thyme, orange zest, and olive oil. Add red wine and mix well. Place in plastic bag with monkfish, seal and marinate in the refrigerator for 24 hours.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Heat the butter in a nonstick pan. Add the garlic and saute in butter until lightly golden. Add mushrooms and cook until the water has evaporated. Season with salt and pepper and cool.
• With an apple corer, make a hole lengthwise through the potato saving the core. Fill the potato with enough mushroom filling to pack the inside of the potato. Cut the ends of the cores off and use as caps to seal off the ends of the potato. Rub olive oil, salt and pepper on the potatoes. Wrap in foil and bake for 45 minutes.
• Prepare sauce by reducing red wine, balsamic vinegar, shallots, and bay leaf until lightly thickened. Add the veal stock and bring to a simmer. Strain, whisk in cold butter and season with salt and pepper.
• Remove fish from the marinade. Pat dry and season with salt. In a large skillet, heat 4 tablespoons olive oil until very hot over high heat. Add fish and brown on all sides. Finish cooking in the oven until fish is cooked through, about 8 to 10 minutes
• Saute spinach with olive oil in a large pan until wilted and season with salt and pepper.
• Place the spinach in piles in the center of 2 large plates. Place the fish around the spinach at the12 and 6 o'clock positions. Cut potatoes on the bias trimming the ends to lay flat and place at 9 and 3 o'clock positions. Pour the wine sauce over the fish and serve.

ROAST MONKFISH

Steps:

• MAKE PORTIONS BY DIVIDING THE MONKFISH IN TWO 100 GRAM SECTIONS. COOK THE WHOLE POTATOES IN THE FISH STOCK. BLANCH THE GREEN BEANS AND SAUTE WITH THE POTATOES.
• SCORE THE FISH AND ADD TO THE VEGETABLES PAN, BASTE WITH THE SAUCE AND HEAT EVERYTHING TOGETHER.
• FOR THE SAUCE, FRY A TABLESPOON OF THE PASTE BASE, BASTE WITH THE FISH STOCK AND REMOVE FROM HEAT, ADD THE PEAR PUREE AND GARLIC MAYONNAISE, CONTINUE BEATING WITH A WHISK SO THE INGREDIENTS DO NOT SEPARATE, STRAIN AND RESERVE.
• FOR THE GARLIC MAYONNAISE, MAKE A PUREE OF ROASTED GARLIC WITH THE EGG YOLKS AND DRIZZLE IN THE OIL, BAKE THE PEARS WITH THE SKIN ON, REMOVE THE MEAT OF THE FRUIT AND CRUSH IT, BASTE IT WITH THE FISH STOCK AND BLEND WITH THE GARLIC MAYONNAISE.
• SOFREGIT - MINCE THE ONION AND STEAM IT COVERED, THEN INCREASE THE HEAT AND ADD THE GARLIC, PAPRIKA AND TOMATO (SEEDED AND MINCED) IN THAT ORDER. COOK FOR ABOUT 4 HOURS UNTIL IT BECOMES A COMPOTE.

PAN ROASTED MONKFISH WITH POTATOES AND LEEKS

Steps:

• Begin by removing the outer mottled gray membranes and any dark red portions from the monkfish fillets. On a slight angle, slice the fish into 1/2-inch thick medallions. Using two pieces of wax paper, place a few medallions between the paper and lightly pound them with the flat side of a meat mallet or small heavy saucepan to slightly flatten them.
• In a 4-5 quart saucepan, add the potatoes and enough cold water to cover them by 3 inches, season with salt and bring to a boil.
• Reduce heat to a gentle boil and cook 10 minutes.
• Trim the root ends and dark green leaves from the leeks. From the greens of one leek, trim any yellow, wilted or bruised parts and reserve them. The other two leek greens can be set aside for another use, like stock. Slice the leek whites and reserved greens in half lengthwise. Rinse layers well under cold water to remove any grit from between the layers. Using one set of leek whites and greens, cut again in half lengthwise. The remaining leek whites cut crosswise into 1 inch pieces. Add all the leeks to the potatoes after they have cooked at a gentle boil for 10 minutes. Cook leeks and potatoes for an additional 10 minutes or until they are tender.
• Reserve 2 cups of the potato/leek cooking liquid. Drain the remaining liquid from the vegetables. Transfer to a blender the leek greens, long pieces of leek whites and two slices of the potato. Add approximately 1/2 cup of the reserved cooking liquid and blend until smooth. While the blender is still running, add 1/2 cup of the olive oil in a thin steady stream. Blend until creamy and the sauce is thick enough to lightly coat a spoon. If necessary, add more cooking liquid to get the sauce to that stage. Strain the sauce into a small saucepan, keep warm over low heat.
• In a large skillet over a medium-high flame, heat 3 tablespoons of the olive oil. Add the remaining leeks and potatoes that have been drained and the thyme sprigs to the skillet.
• Season with salt and pepper and cook until golden brown, turning often, for approximately 12 minutes. Remove from heat and cover skillet to keep the mixture warm.
• Sprinkle the monkfish slices with salt and lightly coat them with flour, tap off excess. In a large non-stick skillet over medium flame, heat the remaining 3 tablespoons of oil. Add as many monkfish slices as possible to fit in a single layer. Cook fish only turning once until golden brown on both sides, approximately 5-7 minutes. Remove to a plate and keep warm.
• Divide the potatoes and leeks among 6 warm dinner plates. Place the monkfish slices on top of the vegetable mixture and spoon the sauce over the fish. Garnish with a sprinkle of parsley and/or chives. Serve immediately.

ROASTED MONKFISH WITH POTATOES, OLIVES AND BAY LEAVES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400°F.
• Peel and thinly slice the potatoes (a mandoline is great for this).
• Cover the bottom of a 9x12-inch baking dish with half the olive oil, and top with the potatoes in a single layer (they can overlap a little).
• Season with salt and pepper and top with the bay leaves and remaining oil.
• Roast for ten minutes, turn the pan back to front, and roast ten minutes more (by now the potatoes should be browning--if not, give them another minute or two).
• Top the potatoes with the olives and lay the fish on top, sprinkling it with salt and pepper.
• Roast the dish for an additional ten minutes or until the fish is tender but not overcooked.
• Serve immediately.

MONKFISH WITH MASHED POTATOES AND THYME

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Put potatoes in a saucepan with water to cover. Add a large pinch of salt. Cook potatoes until quite tender, about 15 minutes. Drain and put through a ricer or food mill, or mash with a fork or potato masher. Add butter, milk, a few thyme leaves, and salt and pepper to taste. Keep warm in the oven or reheat in a microwave when ready to serve.
• While potatoes cook, or immediately after they are done, put an ovenproof skillet large enough to accommodate monkfish over medium-high heat. After a minute, add the oil, garlic, a couple of thyme sprigs and then fillets. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cook for about a minute, then without turning, transfer to oven.
• Roast until monkfish is cooked through, 8 to 12 minutes depending on its thickness. (It will be tender but still firm when done; a thin-bladed knife will meet consistent light resistance when inserted in its center.) Reheat potatoes if necessary, then serve monkfish browned side up on top of them, garnished with a little more thyme and pan juices.

ROAST MONKFISH WITH CRISP POTATOES, OLIVES, AND BAY LEAVES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400°F. Peel and thinly slice the potatoes (use a mandoline if you have one). Spread the bottom of a 9 X 12-inch baking pan with half the olive oil; top with a single layer of the potatoes (it's okay if they overlap a little). Season with salt and pepper and top with the bay leaves and remaining oil.
• Roast for 10 minutes. Check and turn the pan from back to front, shaking it a little to bathe the potatoes in oil. Roast for 10 minutes more. If the potatoes aren't browning, roast for 5 minutes more.
• Top the potatoes with the olives and the fish; sprinkle the fish with salt and pepper. Roast for 10 minutes more, or until the fish is tender but not overcooked. Serve immediately.
• Variations
• You can mix sliced onion or other root vegetables in with the potatoes, and the results will be delicious, but the juices of the vegetables will reduce the potatoes' browning; it's a trade-off, and there's nothing to be done about it.
• Substitute about 10 fresh sprigs thyme for the bay or about 2 teaspoons fresh (or 1 dried) rosemary.
• Other possibilities: 1 tablespoon ground cumin or cumin seeds; 1 tablespoon fennel seeds; 3 teaspoons curry powder (sprinkle 1 teaspoon on the fish itself); a few saffron threads; or 1 tablespoon good-quality, medium-hot paprika.