Monkfish & Potatoes

Taken with a Canon eos 350d digital Slr

Pound for pound monkfish costs as much as fillet steak. If you're looking to save on your shopping bill I’d stay clear of this Atlantic delicacy. However due to its expense you'll very often find it in the reduced section of your supermarket as nobody wants to buy it full price. As long as you have a couple of monkfish recipes memorised you can get a great meal for less.

Parma ham you can get from the deli counter otherwise your supermarket usually has a cheap and cheerful version near the processed meat aisle. A couple of medium to large potatoes, a pot of cream and a small lemon, that’s all you really need to get you on your way to this beautiful meal for two.

Tip 1. Always preheat your oven.

Tip 2. If you put your grill on it heats the oven quicker.

MONKFISH

For the monkfish you don't need to do anything too special. Roll the fillet in some cracked black pepper and some lemon zest (and a tiny bit of dried thyme if you have any) and wrap it up in overlapping slices of Parma ham. Tie it up with string one ringlet at a time. I don't expect you to do butchers knots here. 

POTATOES

For your tatties, pour the small pot of cream into a saucepan and then half again with milk. Give it a good bit of seasoning as potatoes can take it.

Slice your tatties as thin as you can, use the slice setting out a food processor if you have one (this will save you so much time).

One by one add the slices to the cream and press it down to make sure they're all covered, simmer for about 15 minutes on a very low heat otherwise the cream and potato will stick and burn to the pan.

Grease up an oven dish and add your potatoes. Cook at 150c for about 40 minutes or until the top is nicely browned. Remove from the oven, cover with foil then crank up your oven to 240c.

When the oven is nice and hot pop in the monkfish and set a timer for 15 minutes. When that pings you can serve.

You have a choice of sauce for this. You could’ve bought a larger pot of cream and mixed it with some watercress. Or if you have a (fresh or old) bottle of red wine knocking around you could reduce about a glass worth in a saucepan with a good pinch of sugar and a little bit of gravy granules to make a nice rich sauce to go with it.

Tea for two for about £3.50 each (minus the wine)