This is a pretty classic combo, it's slightly less striking in appearance than usual because I've used chioggia beetroot rather than the normal purple kind, but chioggia is lovely and sweet so it tasted great.
You just need one nice fillet of monkfish to feed two people, plus 2 or 3 beetroots and one pot of soft goat's cheese.
Any leaves will do for the salad base, I had baby gem.
First, boil the beetroot whole for 20 minutes or so, then let it sit on the side to cool slightly before you rub the skin off and cut it into small wedges. Arrange the wedges in a small baking tray and mix with a large drizzle of balsamic vinegar, some olive oil, salt and lots of pepper. Pop into the oven at 180 for a further 15 to 20 minutes.
While the beetroot are in the oven, boil some new potatoes in salted water until cooked through and take the fish fillet out of the fridge to warm up slightly. Arrange the salad leaves on your plates.
Season the fish with salt and pepper. Heat up a frying pan with a little olive oil and butter and, when very hot, place the fish in the pan. Don't move it, just let it cook for a few minutes, until the sides start to turn slightly opaque. Flip the fillet over and cook for another one or two minutes, then take off the heat and allow to rest for a second while you plate up the rest.
Lay the slices of beetroot over the lettuce, then arrange peices of buttered potato around the top. Then top with chunks of the monkfish and teaspoons of the goat's cheese. Sprinkle a few extra drops of balsamic vinegar over the top and give the whole thing a nice grinding of pepper.
This is the easiest dinner of them all, but you do need good quality fish and seafood to pull it off; it's pretty simple, so it relies heavily on the flavours from the fish.
I've recently had a new order through from the fish society that included monkfish and squid, along with a bunch of fresh clams from abel and cole. I thought these would make a perfect combination when cooked a bit like the French moules mariniere. I found a recipe to inspire me in Nigella Express; like her or not, this particular cookbook is a good one. As always, though, I had to personalise it!
I had some lovely broad beans so I shelled them, blanched them and removed their cases to go in with the stew.
I heated up some butter and oil in a pan and fried a sliced onion. Added sliced monkfish and squid rings for a few minutes, then added a couple of queen scallops and a glass of white wine. I left it until it was bubbling hot before adding the clams and covering with a lid. They need shaking up every now and again, but they only need cooking for a few minutes.
Add a splash of sherry or marsala and some chopped parsley, cover again and cook for yet another few minutes. Finally, take off the heat, mix in some spring onions or chives, a crack of black pepper and serve with fresh bread and butter. Food for the soul!
The fish society have very kindly created a discount code for us: enter the word HEDON in the discount textbox when you check out and you'll get 10% off.
***again, I need to mention that I don't get any special bonuses or payments for recommending companies, I just do it because I like them, their products and their customer service. This discount code was a lovely guesture they made after reading comments I'd already made about them. Just so we're clear!***
