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Monkfish tail au vin
Serves 4 Starters and mains
Ingredients
- 2 x 300g-350g monkfish tail, skin removed
- 150g unsmoked bacon lardons
- 1⁄2tsp sea salt
- 3tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 25g ghee
- 250g shallots
- 150g baby button mushrooms
- sprig bay leaves
- 2 sprigs lemon thyme
- 1⁄2tsp ground black pepper
- 2tbsp redcurrant jelly
- 2tbsp brandy
- 175ml red wine
- 15g flat-leaf parsley, leaves chopped (keep a few small leaves whole to serve)
- 950g King Edward potatoes or others suitable for mashing, peeled and cut into pieces
- 20g butter
- 4tbsp whole milk
Method
Monkfish have quite stubborn dark brown slithery skins. Usually the huge head and outer skin is removed, which is about two- thirds of the actual fish. A veil of pale grey sticky membrane often remains over the tail end but it’s easy to remove with a sharp knife if you get in between the flesh and the membrane. A tail normally weighs between 350-400g and is plenty for 2 as a main course. It’s simple to slice the 2 fillets off the only central cartilaginous bone.
Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/ Gas 4. Remove the fillets from the monkfish tail, cut into 3.5cm pieces then coat with half the salt and set aside.
Fry the bacon lardons in a dry heavy-based casserole for about 2 minutes, then remove from the dish with a slotted spoon, leaving any fat behind. Add the ghee and half of the oil to the casserole and fry the shallots over a medium heat for around 7 minutes, stirring frequently until golden.
Add the mushrooms and cook for 3 minutes. Add the herbs, black pepper, redcurrant jelly, monkfish and lardons and stir the mixture to coat. Pour in the brandy and red wine and as soon as the mixture bubbles, turn off the heat. Cover with a cartoush (a circle of baking paper dampened and scrunched up) and the lid, then place in the oven for 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, cook the potatoes in salted boiling water until soft enough to mash. Drain well and place back in the pan with the butter and milk then mash until it’s smooth and creamy.
When the 10 minutes is up, take the fish out of the oven, remove all the solids with a slotted spoon and set aside in a warm bowl. Put the casserole over a medium heat and reduce the liquid by about two-thirds until it’s rich, glossy and has thickened a little. Place the solids back in the sauce, add the chopped parsley and stir gently.
Serve with the mashed potato and scatter over the parsley leaves.
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