Roast monkfish with buttered savoy cabbage, vermouth and clams
- Preparation and cooking time
- Total time
- or under
- A little effort
- Serves 6
Ingredients
- 1 savoy cabbage
- 250g unsalted butter, cold and diced
- 4 shallots, finely sliced
- 150ml white wine
- 150ml Noilly Prat vermouth
- 300ml fish stock
- 250ml double cream
- 36 clams, cleaned
- 900g monkfish tail fillets, skinned
- small bunch flat-leaf parsley
- for dusting plain flour
- olive oil
- 1 lemon, juiced
Method
- STEP 1
Prepare the cabbage by removing the dark green outer leaves and discarding. Separate the leaves, remove the tough centre vein, then tear into large pieces.
- STEP 2
Cook the leaves in boiling salted water for a minute until just tender. Remove from the water, drain and leave to cool.
- STEP 3
Melt 50g of the butter in a pan and add the shallots. Cook on a gentle heat for 2 minutes without the shallots colouring. Add the white wine and cook on a high heat, leave to bubble until almost all the liquid has gone. Add the vermouth and cook until reduced by about ¾ volume.
- STEP 4
Add the fish stock and reduce by ½. Strain through a fine sieve into a wide pan and discard the shallots left in the sieve. Add the cream to the pan and bring to the boil.
- STEP 5
Add the clams to the sauce and cook with the lid on until the clams have opened up, about 3-4 minutes. Discard any that are still closed. Set the sauce aside.
- STEP 6
Heat the oven to 220C/fan 200C/gas 7. Cut the monkfish into six evenly sized portions and season with salt. Dust the monkfish lightly in flour and pat it to remove the excess.
- STEP 7
Heat a little olive oil in a frying pan on a high heat, and fry the monkfish on both sides, until it takes on a golden colour. Transfer the monkfish to a roasting tray and cook in the oven for 4-6 minutes until the monkfish is just cooked.
- STEP 8
Remove the fish from the oven and squeeze a little lemon juice onto each of the fillets and set aside in a warm place.
- STEP 9
Put 2 tablespoons of water into a pan and bring to the boil. Whisk in the remaining butter until the water and butter has emulsified and add a little salt.
- STEP 10
Add the cabbage to pan to re-heat and coat in the butter emulsion. Divide the cabbage between six bowls and top with the monkfish tails.
- STEP 11
Finely chop the parsley leaves and add to the cream sauce with a squeeze of lemon juice and spoon around the cabbage in the bowls.