Whole Roast Monkfish, Spring Vegetables and Dehesa de Solana Ham

Paul Ainsworth is back with this seasonal fish recipe for Whole Roast Monkfish, Spring Vegetables and Dehesa de Solana Ham. This is a real family dish, you can pop it in the middle of the table and everyone can dive in. Amazing!

Ingredients

Monkfish

1 medium monkfish tail cleaned
10 sprigs thyme
10 sprigs rosemary
2 bay leaves
Salt and pepper
50 ml olive oil
Butcher’s string

Spring Vegetables

70g fresh podded peas
70g fresh shelled broad beans
8 spears of asparagus sliced into rounds with tips kept whole
2 baby gem lettuce sliced
100g fresh morel mushrooms washed and kept whole
15g chives chopped finely
15g tarragon chopped into dice
15g chervil chopped
200ml ham stock
150g unsalted butter diced
1 large shallot diced finely
2 cloves garlic grated finely
10ml olive oil

To serve

1 leg Dehesa de Solana ham or any good carved Iberico ham
1 lemon
1 lime

Method

Print Recipe

Monkfish

Season the tail all over with salt and pepper, lay the thyme, rosemary and bay leaves over the tail and tie with string securing the herbs to the tail
Drizzle the monkfish with olive oil and place onto the bbq or griddle pan and colour all over, place the monkfish onto a tray and into a pre heated oven 170c and cook for 20-25 minutes until you hit a core temperature of 46-49c
Remove the fish from the oven and allow to rest for 5 minutes before finishing the dish
Remove the string and the herbs from the monkfish tail

Spring Vegetables

Bring the ham stock to a simmer and whisk in the diced butter to make an emulsion then set aside and keep warm
In a large frying pan over a gentle heat add the olive oil, shallot dice and garlic and start to soften the shallots without adding colour.
Turn the heat up and add the morel mushrooms and season lightly and sauté for 30 seconds. Now add the asparagus and cook without adding colour
Add the baby gem lettuce and lightly fry until it starts to soften
Add the broad beans and peas and then the emulsified ham stock
Finish the dressing with lemon juice and the chopped herbs and check the seasoning

To serve

Place the cooked monkfish onto a large oval serving plate
Spoon the spring veg all over and around the dish
Carve large slices of ham and place over the top of the fish
Finish with fresh lemon and lime zest