Healthy Monkfish Recipes and How to Cook Monkfish

I remember coming across this tip some time ago now but I cannot recall where. I have noted, however, that it is something Gordon Ramsay does in the instructional video further down this page, so perhaps it was from one of his shows I acquired it.

Monkfish naturally has a very high water content. If we therefore take the fillets and cook them straight away, this water is likely to form part of our finished dish and can have the effect of making the fish soggy, or perhaps diluting the flavour of the sauce. If, however, we salt the fillets and set them aside on a plate for five to ten minutes prior to cooking them or incorporating them with the remainder of our ingredients, the salt will extract much of this excess water which can simply then be discarded.

This is a delicious dish in which the monkfish can easily be substituted for another type of firm white fish. Cod also works very well cooked in this way.

To provide enough for two people, you will need:

1 large monkfish tail fillet (chopped in to bite-sized chunks)
2 large cans of chopped tomatoes in tomato juice (excess juice drained away)
2 cloves of garlic (crushed or very finely chopped)
5 or 6 fresh basil leaves (roughly torn or chopped)
2oz of hard cheddar cheese (grated)
1 tbsp olive oil
A little salt and pepper to taste

Put your oven on to pre-heat to 200 degrees celsius or equivalent. Heat the olive oil gently in a large pan and sweat off the garlic for a few moments, stirring frequently. Add the tomatoes and the basil, season, and bring to a boil, then simmer until the oven is heated. Add the monkfish to the pan and stir very well before transferring the mixture to an appropriately sized, oven-proof dish. Place in the centre of the oven for 30/35 minutes.

Remove the dish from the oven and sprinkle over the grated cheese. Place the dish under a hot grill for twenty to thirty seconds until the cheese is melted and starts to bubble.

This dish is delicious served simply with some boiled and lightly buttered baby new potatoes and boiled or steamed fresh broccolli.

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