I love a monkfish tail, it looks impressive on the table and theres just the one bone, with no small bits so its dead easy to eat. This dish is a classic Basque dish and is a one pot wonder, perfect for these colder times.
Serves 4 people
- 800gram monkfish tail on the bone (1.2-1.4Kg before prep), all sinew removed and rubbed with garlic.
- 2 large shallots, finely sliced
- 1 clove of garlic, finely chopped
- 1/4 red chilli, deseeded and finely sliced
- 2 red peppers, finely sliced
- 2 Green peppers, finely sliced
- 4 beef tomatoes, extremely ripe and chopped into small cubes
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 sprigs of thyme
- 120ml Cup white wine
- 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tbsp flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
Method:
In a medium sized sauce pan, gently warm 2 tablespoons of the oil. Add the garlic and cook slowly until it begins to soften, add the shallots, peppers and chilli and cook gently for 10 minutes until very soft. Add the white wine and reduce slightly on a higher heat, add the chopped tomatoes, bay leaf and thyme and cook on a low heat for 20 minutes, you might need to add some water if the tomatoes are not too ripe.
- In a roasting tin, heat the remaining oil and fry the monkfish tail until fully browned on all sides - about three minutes on each side, season with sea salt.
- Pour in the piperade sauce and make sure the fish is half covered with the sauce. Place the tin in a preheated oven at 200˚C and roast for 10 minutes, make sure you keep on basting the fish with the sauce and half way through turn the fish over.
- Sprinkle with chopped parsley and serve with a bowl of sauté potatoes.
