Ingredients
- Olive oil, to cook
- 1 cup diced onion
- 3/4 cup diced celery
- 3/4 cup diced carrot
- 1/2 tablespoon minced garlic
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1 cup white wine
- 1 cup crushed tomatoes
- 1 bay leaf
- 4 sprigs thyme
- 1/4 cup soy sauce
- 3 stalks lemon grass, roughly chopped
- 1/2 cup fresh orange juice
- 4 cups chicken or vegetable stock
- 1 (3 pound) monk fish saddle, cleaned and cut into 4 pieces
- Salt and black pepper, to taste
- Cayenne, for seasoning
- 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
- 2 tablespoons Chinese vinegar
- Mushrooms, recipe follows
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 lemon, juiced
Directions
In a non-reactive saucepan coated with olive oil, saute the onion, celery, and carrots and garlic until caramelized. Add tomato paste and cook for 3 minutes. Deglaze with white wine, and reduce the liquid by half. Add crushed tomatoes, bay leaf, thyme, soy sauce, lemon grass, orange juice, and chicken stock. Reduce by a third, and check for seasoning. Strain the sauce and set aside. Season the monkfish with salt, pepper, and cayenne pepper. Sear the fish over high heat in olive oil, using a pan large enough that the fish is not overcrowded. The fish is just cooked long enough to evenly brown the outside, about 2 minutes on each side. Pour off as much oil as possible. Deglaze with the vinegars. Add the reserved sauce, using just enough to cover the fish half way. Add the mushrooms and cover. Place in a preheated 350 degree oven until the fish is cooked through, about 15 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven, and add the butter and lemon juice. Check again for seasoning.
MUSHROOMS:
- 1 cup fresh shittake mushrooms, quartered with stems removed
- 1 cup button mushrooms, halved with stems removed
- 1/2 tablespoon chopped garlic
- 1/2 tablespoon chopped ginger
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- Salt and black pepper, to taste
Saute mushrooms with garlic and ginger in 1 tablespoon of olive oil over high heat, until caramelized, about 3 minutes. Add Sauteed mushrooms from below to the sauce. Check for seasoning.
HERBED WHIPPED POTATOES:
- 1 1/2 pounds potatoes, peeled and halved
- 5 cloves garlic
- 8 tablespoons butter
- 1/2 cup chopped herbs (basil, parsley, chives, and cilantro
Place the potatoes and garlic in a saucepan and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil, and add enough salt to flavor the water. Boil for 20 minutes, or until the potatoes are soft. Strain potatoes and place in a mixer fitted with wire whip. Whip at low speed, incorporating butter slowly. Increase the speed to lighten the potatoes and increase their volume. Check for seasoning, and set aside. Right before serving, mix the chopped herbs into the potatoes.
GREMOLATA:
- 1/4 cup parsley, finely chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 1 lemon, zested
To make a gremolata, combine the parsley, garlic and lemon zest. Set aside, and reserve for plating.
PLATING: Place a serving of potatoes in the middle of a large bowl. Place the fish on top of the potatoes, and spoon the sauce and mushrooms around it. Garnish with gremolata.
Wine Suggestion: King Estate, Oregon Pinot Noir, 1994 Vintage
















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By emhooper1956
Boston, MA
on November 27, 2011
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This was wonderful, and great for entertaining, we just stop before putting it in the oven, and had no work to do while we had guests.
One of my favorites!!
By KatAlan
on December 11, 2010
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Wow. This is one of the best sauces I've ever prepared. It takes some effort, but the results are well worth it. I didn't have white wine so substituted vermouth and water. Also substituted cilantro for the lemon grass, but was still delicious! I would prepare the mushrooms prior to searing the fish so they are ready to pop into the sauce. I will make this again for a small dinner party.
By vwonders_8881012
Pensacola, FL
on January 02, 2008
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Yum...This is a must try. I tested this out on friends at a dinner party last weekend. The consensus was that this was the best dish I have ever made. I live on the Florida Gulf Coast and have access to a variety of fresh fish, so I used "scamp" (from the grouper family. Well worth the effort, you will not be disappointed.
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