Monk fish is sometimes called "poor man's lobster". Some would argue that it has a similar taste to that of lobster (I think it tastes better), it definitely has the same texture and up until the last couple of years it was about a 1/3 of the price. With the price difference leveling out recently, you might now call it "bored man's lobster". It's something different. And if you have a shellfish allergy, its your only alternative to the emergency room.
Thomas Keller has done countless takes on "Peas and Carrots" at his restaurants. I borrowed and tweaked his carrot sauce here for my own rendition.
The sauce is made from juiced carrots, cumin and coriander. The liquid is reduced to a glaze, cut with some heavy cream and emulsified with butter.
The peas come in two forms; as a fried chickpea fritter and a pea shoot salad. For the fritter, I cooked the chickpeas in stock with onions, garlic, cane vinegar and Ras el Hanout. Ras el Hanout, as you will see when clicking on the link, is an Indian spice blend that will vary slightly depending on where you get it. The blend that I use has a predominant flavor that is somewhere between cinnamon, cayenne and saffron. The chickpeas are then pureed and frozen into disks. Once frozen I bread them with panko bread crumbs and pan fry them. The salad is simply pea shoot greens dressed with olive oil and sherry vinegar.
This all comes together with pan seared monk fish. It's important to remember when cooking Monk fish to let it rest for a few minutes after its done just as you would rest a piece of meat. The flesh tightens up a bit during the cooking process and needs some time to relax.
Thomas Keller has done countless takes on "Peas and Carrots" at his restaurants. I borrowed and tweaked his carrot sauce here for my own rendition.
The sauce is made from juiced carrots, cumin and coriander. The liquid is reduced to a glaze, cut with some heavy cream and emulsified with butter.
The peas come in two forms; as a fried chickpea fritter and a pea shoot salad. For the fritter, I cooked the chickpeas in stock with onions, garlic, cane vinegar and Ras el Hanout. Ras el Hanout, as you will see when clicking on the link, is an Indian spice blend that will vary slightly depending on where you get it. The blend that I use has a predominant flavor that is somewhere between cinnamon, cayenne and saffron. The chickpeas are then pureed and frozen into disks. Once frozen I bread them with panko bread crumbs and pan fry them. The salad is simply pea shoot greens dressed with olive oil and sherry vinegar.
This all comes together with pan seared monk fish. It's important to remember when cooking Monk fish to let it rest for a few minutes after its done just as you would rest a piece of meat. The flesh tightens up a bit during the cooking process and needs some time to relax.