Roasted Monkfish With Classic French Lentils Food

ROASTED MONKFISH WITH CURRIED LENTILS AND BROWNED BUTTER CAULIFLOWER

Steps:

• For sauce:
• Bring first 4 ingredients to boil in medium saucepan. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer until cauliflower is very tender, about 17 minutes. Cool slightly. Transfer mixture to blender; add 3 tablespoons water and puree until smooth. Season with salt and pepper. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover; chill. Rewarm over medium heat, stirring, and adding more water to thin sauce, if desired.)
• For lentils and browned butter cauliflower:
• Heat oil in medium saucepan over medium heat. Add onion, carrots, and celery; sauté until soft, about 8 minutes. Add lentils, curry, and paprika; stir 1 minute. Add 2 1/2 cups water; bring to boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer until lentils are tender, stirring occasionally, about 30 minutes. Uncover; stir until liquid is absorbed, about 5 minutes.
• Meanwhile, cook butter in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until browned, about 2 minutes. Add cauliflower; sauté until beginning to brown, about 5 minutes. Add 1/4 cup water; cover and cook until cauliflower is crisp-tender and water evaporates, about 3 minutes longer. Stir in lentil mixture. Season with salt and pepper. (Can be made 2 hours ahead. Let stand at room temperature. Rewarm before serving.)
• For gremolata:
• Mix parsley and lemon peel in bowl. Season with salt and pepper.
• For fish:
• Sprinkle monkfish with salt and pepper. Heat oil in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add fish; sauté until just opaque in center, about 6 minutes per side.
• Divide sauce among 4 plates. Spoon lentil mixture alongside. Place fish atop lentils; sprinkle with gremolata.
• *Available at specialty foods stores and some supermarkets.

MEDALLIONS OF MONKFISH WITH LENTILS

Steps:

• Place the lentils in a bowl, cover with water to a depth of one inch above the lentils and allow to soak for one hour. Drain, rinse twice and set aside.
• Preheat the oven to 300 degrees.
• Heat the bacon in a heavy saucepan. Add the onion, carrot and celery and saute until tender. Stir in the garlic. Add the lentils and chicken stock. Tie the clove, thyme and bay leaf together with a piece of string and add the bunch. Bring to a simmer. Cover and place in the oven for about 20 minutes, until the lentils are just tender. All the liquid will not have been absorbed. Remove the bundle of herbs and set the lentils aside. The recipe can be prepared in advance up until this point.
• Cut the monkfish into medallions about one-inch-thick. You should have 12 to 15 medallions. Season with salt and pepper.
• Shortly before serving, reheat the lentils and beat in the butter a bit at a time. Season with lemon juice, mustard and salt and pepper to taste.
• Heat the olive oil in a heavy skillet. Cook the medallions over medium-low heat for about three minutes on each side, until they are just cooked through.
• Spoon some of the lentils in the center of each of four or five warmed plates. Arrange the medallions of fish on them and spoon more of the sauce from the lentils around them. Garnish with parsley and serve.