We love fish in our house, but often the price tag prevents us from eating it more often. A few weeks ago I went to Wegmans to see what they had for wild caught fish. I looked longingly at the Alaskan salmon (for $24 a pound!!!) and eventually settled upon four filets of monkfish. Nevermind that I had never had monkfish before. The price was right, and it looked like it might be good — firm, white, hopefully not too fishy. Little did I know, we were in for quite a treat. Monkfish will now become a staple in my meal plans!
Of course, having never purchased monkfish before, I had no clue what to do with it so I consulted my good friend Google and discovered this recipe for Monkfish Provincial at AllRecipes.com.
Ingredients:
- salt and pepper to taste
- Cajun seasoning to taste
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 pounds monkfish fillets, roughly chopped
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/4 cup butter
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 large tomato, diced
- 1 (8 ounce) package sliced fresh mushrooms
- 1/4 cup dry white wine
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
Directions:
About 30 minutes before I wanted to have dinner ready, I gathered my ingredients and set to work. First, I chopped the tomatoes, mushrooms and garlic.
Then I took out the monkfish and salted and peppered it real good.
I cut it up into quarters. The recipe says to chop them, but I wasn’t sure if I’d like it that way. I think if I do it again, I’ll try chopping it up a bit more because once I got through the whole recipe, I realized that it is supposed to be more like a stew. Oh well, live and learn.
I combined the salt, pepper, Cajun seasoning, and flour in a Ziplock bag and shook the monkfish around in there till it was all nice and coated.
Then I heated some butter and olive oil in my saute pan and browned the monkfish well on both sides.
I added the tomatoes, mushrooms and garlic and cooked it for about 3 minutes before adding the wine and parsley.
I cooked it another 3 or 4 minutes till it was cooked through and flaky and served it with broccoli.
The recipe says to serve over pasta or rice, and I will definitely serve it over brown rice or quinoa next time. It needed something to soak up the juices, but it was still perfectly delicious if you’re trying to steer clear of carbs.
Looks wonderful! Monkfish is one of those ones I’ve always wondered about too. It’s cheap but I never know what to do with it! We eat a lot of seafood here so I’m definitely trying this out next time (minus the garlic b/c I’m allergic!)
That looks good! We had wild salmon marinated in teriyaki sauce last night and it was sooo good. I love when that’s in season and ON SALE! Woot! Woot!
I love monkfish! I would have never tried it because I always stick to what I KNOW is good when we go out, but our favorite little bistro here happened to be serving it one night and they were out of my first choice. It was delish! I’ve been afraid to buy it, though, because I just don’t do seafood well. I tend to overcook it. I may have to try this one!
$24/lb. for Alaska salmon! I get wild sockeye salmon from Alaska for 2.99/lb. every once in awhile. I love being in the Pacific NW for salmon. Ahhhh-mazing.
Yep. Its sickening, isn’t it?
Whew! That’s.. whew… crazy! $24 a lb! I actually live in Alaska and have NEVER bought salmon in the store, my husband’s family lives out in Bethel and knows some of the best King and Red Salmon spots. When we go over there for the holidays we always bring back enough to stuff the freezer for the year. Wow… with a regular fish being anywhere from 10-20 lbs, that would be… good grief! $240-$480 for a single fish??? Man… who knew we ate so luxuriously.
But that monkfish recipe sounds good, I’ll have to try it.
Oh, if you do ever find salmon, just do a simple recipe by slathering it with mayo (the REAL stuff) and lots of dill with a splash of lemon juice. Super super super yummy.
Fish is the only meat we eat in our house and that can get boring fast. I love hearing tried and true fish recipes because I am always afraid to try them out myself and then wind up with a meal we hate! I wouldn’t have picked out monkfish before but now we will have to give it a try. Helpful as always Jo-Lynne, thanks!
Monkfish has often been referred to as mock lobster. It really is quite good, but many folks have never tried it. Thanks to the internet, it is easy to find recipes to try new things. It’s totally awesome in melted butter and garlic!
That looks yummy. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen monkfish here, but we get lots of fresh fish here being so close to the coast.
That looks delicious. I wish my family would eat fish. I love fish!