Monkfish à La Provençale Food

MONKFISH à LA PROVENçALE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 425 degrees. Cover a baking sheet with parchment and place eggplant on top. Season with salt to taste and toss with 2 tablespoons olive oil. Place in oven on middle rack and roast for 15 minutes, stirring halfway through. Remove from oven and reduce heat to 375 degrees.
• Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a heavy lidded skillet or casserole and add onions and pepper. Cook, stirring often, until just about tender, about 5 minutes.
• Add minced garlic and cook, stirring, until fragrant, 30 seconds to a minute. Add zucchini and roasted eggplant, and stir together. Season generously with salt and pepper and add 1/2 bay leaf, 1/2 teaspoon rosemary and 1/2 teaspoon thyme. When vegetables are sizzling, cover pan, reduce heat to low, and simmer 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in the tomato. Taste and adjust seasonings.
• Meanwhile, oil a large baking dish or gratin (large enough to accommodate ratatouille and fish). Season monkfish on both sides with salt and pepper. Make a few slits in the top and insert garlic slices. Place fish in baking dish, rounded side up.
• Sprinkle shallots around fish. Drizzle 1 tablespoon olive oil over fish and sprinkle with remaining rosemary and thyme. Break up remaining bay leaf into a few pieces and scatter over fish. Pour wine into baking dish and place in oven for 25 minutes.
• Remove baking dish from oven and carefully transfer fish to the baking sheet you used for the eggplant. Pour off liquid in baking dish and discard.
• Transfer ratatouille to baking dish and place fish on top. Return to oven and bake 10 to 15 minutes, or until fish is completely opaque and can be pulled from the bone. Monkfish won't flake apart like other white-fleshed fish; the texture is similar to cooked lobster. Remove from oven. Remove pieces of bay leaf, then garnish with basil and serve.

BOURRIDE SèTOISE - PROVENCE FISH SOUP WITH AïOLI

Steps:

• In a large pan bring to the boil the roughly chopped tomatoes and onions, 5 cloves of garlic, the thyme, saffron & orange zest.
• Add 2 tablespoons of the olive oil & one glass of white wine plus 1 litre of water.
• Simmer for 20 minutes.
• Meanwhile, pound the remaining garlic to a puree in a pestle and mortar (or liquidise it if you are feeling lazy).
• Blend in 2 egg yolks and add salt and pepper.
• Gradually beat in the remaining olive oil in a thin stream, using a whisk, until you feel the aioli is thick enough.
• Add lemon juice to taste and leave on one side. (Reward yourself for your efforts by drinking the other glass of wine!).
• Cut the skinned and boned fish into 1" chunks and add it to the saucepan.
• Poach for 15 minutes.
• Then remove the fish with a draining spoon and keep warm.
• Sieve the stock and discard the *vegetables.
• Return the stock to the pan and reheat gently.
• Take about half of the aioli and beat the remaining egg yolk into it. Then slowly pour the warmed stock onto it, stirring constantly.
• Return this mixture to the pan and heat gently, stirring all the time, until it thickens slightly.
• It should be like rather thin custard. Don't let it boil, or it will curdle.
• Divide the cooked fish between serving bowls and pour the soup over it.
• Serve with thin slices of toasted French bread and the remaining aioli.
• NOTE: I serve the *vegetables - tomatoes, onions & garlic on the side as an extra vegetable.

QUICK EASY PROVENCAL SAUCE

Steps:

• finely chop the garlic, and slice the onions. Add to a pan and sweat.
• Add the tomatos, white wine and mixed herbs and simmer until a sauce consistancy
• For a reallly fine sauce just put through a blender. But it is best left chunky for pasta sauce

MONKFISH PROVINCIAL

Steps:

• In a resealable plastic bag, mix the salt, pepper, Cajun seasoning, and flour. Place the monkfish in the bag, seal, and shake to lightly coat.
• Heat the oil and melt the butter in a skillet over medium heat. Place the monkfish in the skillet, and cook for about 3 minutes. Mix in the garlic, tomato, and mushrooms, and continue cooking 3 minutes. Mix in the wine and parsley. Continue to cook and stir 2 minutes, or until the monkfish flakes easily with a fork.

HALIBUT A LA BARIGOULE

Steps:

• In a saute pan with a lid, cook bacon over medium heat until crisp and brown, and fat is rendered, about 10 minutes. Transfer bacon to paper towels to drain. Discard all but 2 tablespoons rendered fat. Add shallots to pan. Cook until they caramelize, scraping brown bits from bottom, about 6 minutes. Add garlic; cook until soft, about 4 minutes more.
• Add carrots, thyme, salt, and pepper to pan; cook until just tender, about 9 minutes. Raise heat to high; slowly add wine and 3/4 cup water; stir to scrape up remaining brown bits, and cook until boiling. Reduce heat to medium; add halibut, and cover. Cook until fish is opaque and cooked through, about 8 minutes.
• Transfer fish to serving plate; discard thyme sprigs. Increase heat to high. Stir in parsley, adjust seasoning, and cook 2 to 3 minutes more. Spoon vegetables and sauce over fish; garnish with reserved bacon. Serve.