I have always loved fish…I like to fish for fish and I especially like to eat them.
When I was a kid we would go to the creek and fish for catfish. They tasted so good when mom would grill them with some butter or pan fry them with a light breading.
This is me…deep sea fishing on the family vacation 1968 off the coast of Florida
I caught a King Mackeral…with a bit of help!
While shopping Saturday afternoon I bought some fish to prepare for the weekend. I have never bought MONK FISH before. The gentleman behind the counter said it was a lot like Lobster; also know as the Poor Mans Lobster so I decided to give it a try.
Here is what I discovered about Monk Fish and the recipe I created.
I looked up a few things about this fish and I never imagined it would look like such a monster.
Yikes!!!It is a very hardy fish, heavy and dense like lobster. It is mild so it needs some flavor like butter, pepper, salt and some spices or perhaps it would work well in a dish that calls for lobster pieces. Like a stew or chowder. (That is my next experiment)
It was a cold and snowy night, so I lit a fire and started cooking.
Monk Fish with Lemon Garlic Butter and White Wine Spinach Cream Sauce
The Gourmet Farm Girl
1 lb Monk Fish (2 fillets)
1 stick butterSalt and pepper
4-5 cloves minced garlic
2 lemons
½ cup white wine (I used Chardonnay)
1 cup chopped fresh spinach
½ cup half and half or cream
Boil the fillets in salt water for 1-2 minutes remove from the water and place on a cutting board. Slit down the middle as you would a lobster tail.
Drizzle olive oil in a heavy oven proof skillet or a cast iron skillet. Place several pats of butter on the bottom of skillet and lay fillets on top. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, grated lemon peel, garlic and several more pats of butter on the top of the fish
Bake at 400 degrees for 10-12 minutes till it is opaque
This fish does not get flakey, it is tender but dense.
Remove fillets from the skillet and wrap in foil
Add 3-4 T butter and white wine to the same skillet and stir to loosen parts. Add the juice of 1 lemon, chopped spinach and cream. Stir till it reduces down to a thick sauce
Salt and pepper to taste
(I discover it needed extra butter bit more salt than I expected
and I think it would be good with some hotter spices like pepper flakes or hot sauce)
I served it with wild rice, steamed asparagus and garlic toast
ENJOY!