A fishy’ dinner suggestion from the Great British Chefs website
Monkfish with sage, cranberry and pine nut stuffing
Ingredients
Monkfish
- 4 monkfish fillets, each weighing 250g
- 12 smoked streaky bacon slices
- 1 knob of unsalted butter
- 2 tbsp of olive oil
- 8 sage leaves
- Cornish sea salt
Stuffing
- 2 onions, chopped
- 1 garlic clove, chopped
- 20g of unsalted butter
- 300g of sausage meat
- 1 egg
- 1 lemon, zested
- 3 tsp sage, chopped
- 50g of dried cranberries
- 30g of pine nuts, toasted
- 3 tbsp of breadcrumbs
- Cornish sea salt
- pepper
Orange and thyme dressing
- 250g of unsalted butter
- 2 sprigs of fresh thyme
- 1 orange, zested
- 100ml of red wine
- 50ml of port
- 50ml of red wine vinegar
- 2 shallots, chopped
- 1 pinch of sugar
- 100g of cranberries
- 1 garlic clove, chopped
- 2 sprigs of fresh thyme, chopped
- 20g of pine nuts
- Cornish sea salt
- pepper
- 1 garlic clove
- Garnish
- 2 Maris Piper potatoes
- 36 Brussels sprouts
- 10 chestnuts, roasted and peeled
- 3 tbsp of rapeseed oil
- 2 tbsp of sage, chopped
- 2 knobs of unsalted butter
- Cornish sea salt
- pepper
Method
To make the stuffing, cook the onions and garlic in the butter until softened. Allow to cool. Mix into the sausage meat. Add the egg, lemon zest, sage, cranberries, pine nuts and breadcrumbs
Check for seasoning and adjust accordingly. Chill until needed
To prepare the monkfish, trim the skin and membrane from the fish, then lay each fillet down on a chopping board
To make a tunnel for the stuffing, insert the tip of a sharp knife through the centre of the fish down its length, making sure not to cut through the outside
Use the knife blade to make a pocket in the fish then push the stuffing into the monkfish. Remove the rind from the bacon and then wrap the bacon around the fish
Lay each piece of monkfish onto a piece of cling film long enough to tie at each end. Wrap the fish tightly – they will be immersed in water – and knot the ends. Chill
To make the dressing, heat the butter, garlic and the thyme together until the butter starts to turn brown. Remove from the heat, add the orange zest and leave the butter to cool and separate
Pour off the clear butter and discard the remaining buttermilk and flavourings
In a separate pan, reduce the wine, port, vinegar, shallots and sugar until the mixture is syrupy. Mix the syrup and the butter together and add the cranberries, chopped garlic, thyme and pine nuts
Bring back to a simmer for a minute to soften the cranberries. Season with salt and pepper. Keep warm
To make the garnish, dice the potato into 1cm cubes and cook in simmering water for 5 minutes or until just tender, then drain thoroughly
Trim and blanch the Brussels sprouts and chop the chestnuts. Heat a sauté pan and add some oil. When the oil is hot add the potatoes and start to colour all over
After 1 minute, add the sprouts and continue to cook. When the potatoes and sprouts are golden add the chestnuts, sage and a knob of butter. Season and drain off any excess butter. Keep warm
To cook the fish, bring a large pan of water to the simmer. Place the fish, still in the cling film casing, into the water and simmer for 15 minutes. Remove from the water and rest for 5 minutes
Put a non-stick pan onto the heat and add a little oil. Cut the fish out of the cling film, reserving the juices for the dressing. Add the fish to the pan, season with salt and colour until golden
Finish with a knob of butter and a few sage leaves. Remove from the pan and drain off any excess butter. Add the juices from the fish to the dressing
To plate, spoon the vegetable garnish onto four warm plates in equal portions. Slice each piece of monkfish into 3 pieces and lay these on top, and spoon over the warm dressing