While I tend to stick pretty close to tradition when it comes to my Christmas Day side offerings, I can’t remember the last time I cooked a turkey or goose as the showstopper. You see, my family is mostly made up of pescatarians, so anything larger than a chicken or cockerel (my personal favourite) for the meat eaters is just excessive. So, alongside a lovingly cooked smaller bird, I also make something fishy – hopefully something with a bit of star-quality, but not too shouty. A dish that will be delicious, fancy, but stress-free all at the same time. These pan-fried monkfish fillets are this year’s solution. It’s the sort of dish that can be made in next to no time while everything else finishes off in the oven, but that still has all the glitz and glamour of Christmas.
Fried monkfish in herby champagne butter
Prep 10 min
Cook 40 min
Serves 4
4 monkfish fillets
4 tbsp plain flour
1½ tsp ground white pepper
Sea salt and black pepper
Olive oil
3 tbsp small capers
½ small bunch each fresh flat-leaf parsley and chives, finely chopped
60g unsalted butter
2 shallots, peeled and very finely chopped
150ml champagne, or prosecco
300ml fish stock
150ml double cream
Zest of 1 unwaxed lemon
Put the monkfish fillets on a sheet of kitchen paper to absorb any excess moisture. In a shallow bowl, toss the flour with a teaspoon of ground white pepper and a half-teaspoon of sea salt, then add some freshly ground black pepper and stir. Toss each fillet in the seasoned flour, until well coated, then put to one side.
Put a large frying pan on a medium heat and drizzle in a few tablespoons of olive oil. Pat the capers dry, add them to the hot pan and fry for about five minutes, until crisp. Spoon the capers into a bowl, add the chopped parsley and chives and stir to combine. Keep the pan for later.
Now make the sauce. Melt the butter in a medium saucepan or frying pan, add the chopped shallots, turn down the heat a little, then season with sea salt and the remaining half-teaspoon of ground white pepper. Cook the shallots for five minutes, until they start to soften, then pour in the champagne, turn up the heat and reduce by half.
Add the stock, bring back to a boil, and keep on a rolling boil for about five minutes to reduce a little further. Stir in the cream, bring to a boil for a couple of minutes, then taste and tweak the seasoning.
Meanwhile, pour enough oil into the large frying pan just to coat the bottom, return it to a medium-high heat and fry the seasoned monkish fillets for three to four minutes on each side, until golden all over and cooked through.
To serve, spoon the hot sauce over a serving platter, ideally one with a lip. Arrange the fried monkfish on top, then scatter over the crisp capers and herbs. Finely grate over the lemon zest and serve straight away with gratin boulangere, caramelised carrots and shredded sprouts.
