Roast Monkfish with Meat Sauce
I used to make an understated but impressive dish of monkfish with a meat sauce that was simple in appearance but tiresome in preparation, because the sauce was a reduction that began with meat bones, continued with roasted vegetables, and required four or five steps over a two-day period. The result was delicious, but so ordinary looking that only the best-trained palates ever picked up on how complex it was. Now I make the same sauce with pan-roasted vegetables, a simple combination of onion, carrot, and celery, darkly browned in a little bit of butter, and a can of beef stock. It takes a half hour or less, and although it doesn’t have the richness of my original work of art, no one to whom I served both could tell the difference with certainty.
Recipe information
Yield
makes 4 servings
Ingredients
Preparation
Step 1
Preheat the oven to 500°F or as close to that as it will get. It’s best to remove the thin membrane clinging to the monkfish before cooking. Just pull and tug on it while cutting through it with a paring knife and it will come off; you don’t have to be too compulsive about this task, but try to get most of it off.
Step 2
Put a cast-iron or other ovenproof skillet or roasting pan in the oven while it is heating. Put half the butter in a small saucepan and turn the heat to medium-high. Add the carrot and celery and stir; a minute later, add the onion. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables brown—be careful not to let them burn—less than 10 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste if you’re using it, then the broth or stock. Bring to a boil, then adjust the heat so the mixture simmers for about 10 minutes.
Step 3
Strain the broth, pressing on the vegetables to extract their liquid. Return to medium-high heat and bring to a boil; let boil until reduced by about three-quarters, or until less than 1/2 cup of thick liquid remains. Season the fish with salt and pepper.
Step 4
Meanwhile, once you’ve strained the broth and begun reducing it, carefully remove the hot pan from the oven and add the olive oil to it; swirl to coat the bottom of the pan. Add the fish and roast for 5 minutes. Remove from the oven and carefully pour the liquid that has accumulated around the fish into the simmering sauce; once again, bring it to a boil and reduce until thick, syrupy, and about 1/2 cup. Turn the fish and roast it for another 5 minutes, or until a thin-bladed knife inserted into its thickest part meets little resistance.
Step 5
Stir the remaining butter into the sauce, then serve the fish with the sauce spooned over it.
Variation
Step 6
Roast Monkfish with Asian Meat Sauce: To season the stock with Asian aromatic vegetables rather than traditional European ones, substitute 10 slices peeled fresh ginger, a lemongrass stalk, and 5 scallions for the carrot, celery, and onion. Omit the tomato paste.
