James Martin’s monkfish and mussels with tomato and ginger sauce

If you’re like celebrity chef James Martin and love a simple piece of monkfish, then this recipe will be right up your street.

But this dish doesn’t feature monkfish alone, no.

There are also mussels in the mix, as well as a mouth-watering sauce boasting fresh root ginger, garlic, dill and parsley, among other tasty ingredients.

It features in James Martin’s Islands to Highlands cook book.

“The sauce for this is a great combination that works with any seafood, and – let’s face it – this country is surrounded with so much to choose from,” he says.

“I love a simple piece of monkfish, but also serve this with cod in the restaurant. Either way, use fresh ginger, grated skin-on, if you want to warm the sauce up even more.

“Shetland and the north coast of Scotland have the best monkfish you can get – when cooked, it’s whiter than white.

“In recent years, chefs have liked it too much, so the price has increased, but when you can find it, buy it!”

James will be hosting three cookery demonstrations at 9.30am, noon and 2.30pm at Taste of Grampian on Saturday, which is taking place at P&J Live in Aberdeen.

Monkfish and mussels with tomato and ginger sauce

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 500g mussels, cleaned and debearded
• 50ml white wine
• 75g salted butter
• 1 teaspoon garam masala
• 10-cm piece fresh root ginger, grated
• 3 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1 shallot, diced
• 12 large tomatoes, skinned, deseeded and diced
• Sea salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1kg monkfish tail
• 1 lemon, sliced
• Small bunch of dill, chopped
• Small bunch of flat-leaf parsley, chopped

Method

1. Light your BBQ. When the coals are silvery, it’s ready to cook on. Put the mussels and wine in a large flameproof pan, cover with a lid and cook for 3–4 minutes on the BBQ (or on the hob over a medium heat) until all the mussels have opened.
2. Strain through a colander resting over a bowl to reserve the liquor (no need to wash the pan – it’s needed to make the spiced butter). Discarding any mussels that are still shut, pick the mussel meat from about half of the shells and set aside.
3. Add 50g of the butter and the garam masala to the mussel pan, then return to the heat to melt the butter. Stir together and set aside.
4. In a separate pan, melt the remaining 25g of butter. When it is foaming, stir in the ginger, garlic, shallot and tomatoes, and cook for 2–3 minutes until beginning to soften. Season, then add the reserved cooking liquor from the mussels, pouring it through a fine sieve to catch any sediment.
5. Cut the monkfish tail two-thirds of the way through the middle and fill with the lemon slices, herbs and picked mussel meat. Tie the tail with string to enclose the stuffing, then thread the monkfish onto 2 metal skewers down the length of the tail. Place on the BBQ and roast for 10–12 minutes, turning it and brushing it with the spiced butter from time to time. Alternatively cook on a preheated griddle over a high heat. Once cooked, remove the skewers and cut off the string.
6. To serve, spoon the tomato and ginger sauce onto a platter and sit the monkfish on top, then arrange the mussels in their shells around the outside.

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