Thursday, March 02, 2006
Grilled Monkfish with White Wine Sauce
Saturday shopping was supposed to be a low-key affair this week. Lofty and I decided that we are spending too much money on everyday things and had to cut back on these hidden expenses. Our food bill seemed like a good place to start. We rarely drink alcohol (the excellent Spanish wine my mum gave us for my birthday is still sitting in the cupboard along with a bottle of Franziskaner Hefeweizen I brought over from Munich before Christmas), almost never eat out - it's just too big a rip off in this city; London is cheaper than Dublin and that means something! - and have take-out about once every 6 weeks. But still, we manage to spend a good 60 to 70 euros a week on food. And what is more, the bulk of this is used to buy little luxuries like different oils and vinegars, enough spices to make an Indian convenience store look under-stocked and such things as wild mushrooms and vintage Cheddar. This is where we were going to cut back. We weren't going to reduce the quality of our food or switch away from organic produce; we were just going to stop shopping as if we're maintaining a small gourmet restaurant at home. I'm sure Lofty would have stuck to that plan for more than a day, but I was bound to fail. When I get anywhere near a nice food shop, I'm like a kid in a candy store. I've just got to shop. I suppose it's better than going crazy on designer clothes, but still...Anyway, I had every intention of staying away from Temple Bar market this morning, but life had other plans. I got knocked out of my poker tournament at 10:15 and decided to get the shopping done and over with before the crowds come out. Then I noticed that the rear brake on my bicycle wasn't working properly and decided to take it to the shop to enquire what was going on. This is the second time in less than 6 months that this brake is messing about. Turns out, all it needed was a good cleaning and oiling. The disgusting Dublin air had caused the tube that the brake cable runs through to get clogged up with black gunge. Charming, I breathe that stuff every day! I don't want to know what it does to my sinuses.
But none of that mattered to me now, because when I left the bike shop, I found myself just around the corner from the market, which was
as much of an excuse as I needed to forget all about my newfound thriftiness. So I headed straight down to Jenny, the lady in the corner, where, in place of the usual empty baskets, I found an abundance of freshly harvested vegetables. Black kale, curly kale, baby red kale, white cabbage, red cabbage, spinach, red chard, watercress, sorrel, spicy salad leaves, carrots, beetroot, sprouting broccoli, parsnips, carrots and many more; you name it and, if it's seasonal, she had it. I got what felt like one of each along with two duck eggs and a goose egg, neither of which we had ever eaten before and both of which came highly recommended. In fact, I got so much stuff, I didn't even stop at Dennis' stall. No need to pay his prices for imported stuff if you can have better, locally grown stuff for less money and with a smile rather than a grumpy look. Don't get me wrong, Dennis is always polite to customers, I'm just not too keen on the way he treats his staff.My next stop was the fishmonger on Meath, and a good stop it was at that. He had monkfish "filets," as he calls it. They really are thin strips of monkfish that are left over after the filets have been cut. But at €5 per pound who cares? They are still just as lovely and perfect for such things as pasta or risotto. But after a day of browsing posh food I was in the mood for something slightly more posh than mere pasta, and opted for grilled fish with steamed sprouting broccoli and creamy white wine sauce instead. It was as much work as it sounds, but in the end it was all worth it. The fish was crispy and golden on the outside, the broccoli still had a bit of bite to it, and both flavours were perfectly complemented by the creamy, slightly tangy white wine sauce. Accompanied by a huge mound of garlicky mashed potatoes, this turned out to be the perfect dinner for a perfect day.
For the grilled monkfish:I suppose the picture above is a good example of what happens if you're too slow at pulling the leeks out of the oil. As you can see, it is starting to turn black - And that's after only 2 minutes!
salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
500 g monkfish fillet, trimmed
4 tbsp olive oil
For the garlicky mashed potatoes:
4 large floury potatoes, peeled and cut into large chunks
4 large cloves of garlic
4 tbsp butter
a bit of milk
salt and pepper to taste
For the crispy leeks:
vegetable oil, for deep-frying
½ leek, sliced into long strips
For the creamy white wine sauce:
2 tbsp butter
1 tbsp olive oil
100 g mushrooms (preferably wild mushrooms, but today I opted for organic button mushrooms and added some dried porcini for extra flavour)
4 tbsp white wine
4 tbsp double cream
2 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped finely
½ lemon, juice only
1 tomato, finely diced
1 vegetable Oxo cube (or enough stock granules for 200 ml of liquid)
salt and pepper to taste
Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius. Put the potatoes and garlic in a medium saucepan, add enough water to just cover them and bring to the boil. They will take about 20 minutes.
Season the monkfish with salt and pepper to taste. Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a large shallow frying pan until fairly hot. Seal the monkfish in the oil on all sides, transfer to a baking tray, and place in the preheated oven for 5 to 7 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to rest.
When the potatoes are cooked, drain thoroughly, add the butter, and mash. Add a bit of milk if the mash appears dry and season to taste with salt.
To cook the crispy leeks, preheat the vegetable oil for deep-frying. Place the leeks in the oil, and deep-fry until crispy. Be careful, the leeks cook very quickly and, as we all know, when its brown, it's done, when it's black it's a case for the bin. Drain on a bit of paper towel.
To make the sauce, deglaze the frying pan which was used to seal the monkfish with the wine, bring to the boil, and then pour into a small saucepan over low heat. Heat the olive oil in the frying pan, add the mushrooms, and cook for 2 to 4 minutes until the mushrooms are beginning to release their liquid. (If the fish is not crispy, heat the remaining 2 tbsp of oil in the pan and, just before serving, lightly brown the fish on all sides, about 2 to 3 minutes.)
When the sauce in the small pot is beginning to simmer, add the butter and the mushrooms. Melt the butter, stirring constantly, until the sauce is smooth. Then add chopped herbs and lemon juice, and cook for 1 to 2 minutes. Now add the cream and the diced tomatoes and the stock cube, and season to taste with salt and pepper.
Serve the roasted monkfish with the mashed potatoes and some steamed broccoli, drizzle with the sauce and garnish with the crispy leeks.
Christine at 10:28 pm
