Monkfish steaks with sauce Caroline

This looks like a trivially simple dish of fried fish – but, using monkfish with its firm flesh and distinct flavour and the fish-flavoured sauce Caroline, makes it very special.  It is a brilliant starter.

Preparation Time: 10 Mins

Cooking Time: 20 Mins

Total Time: 30 Mins

Ingredients

For 4 servings…

4 steaks           Monkfish   

                      Flour        

60 gms            Butter       

1 tbs               Olive oil    

For the sauce Caroline

2 tbs               Vinegar  - white wine 

2 tbs               Wine  - dry white     

2 tsp               Sugar  - caster        

2 tbs               Lemon juice            

10 cl               Stock  - fish

To serve

                      Parsley  - chopped finely        

                      Basil  - chopped finely

Method

To make the sauce Caroline…

Place the wine vinegar, white wine and caster sugar in a sauté pan (or heavy saucepan) and boil vigorously until the first signs of caramelisation appear.  Immediately add 1 tbs of the lemon juice and the fish stock.  Boil and reduce to a coating consistency.  Off the heat stir in a further tbs of lemon juice.  Keep warm while the fish is cooked.

To prepare and cook the fish…

Lightly coat the monkfish with flour.   Shake off the surplus and place in a flying pan in which the butter and oil has been heated until it is foaming.  Cook gently until the flesh is opaque right through.  Drain on kitchen paper and then place on the individual serving plates – coating with the sauce and sprinkled with a mixture of the chopped parsley and basil.

Wine recommendations

A robust white wine.

Conventional

     Vouvray sec

Interesting

     Côte Chalonnaise blanc

     Graves sec

     Menetou-Salon blanc