Monkfish tail with orange & carrot salad and safon aioli
The dish makes use of vinegar in three different ways: to marinade the fish, as a salad dressing, and into a sauce.
The fish is first marinaded in a mix of herbs, fennel seeds, oil and sherry vinegar to tenderise its meat and allow the fish to take on more flavour. Once cooked it is served with a sherry vinegar-dressed orange and carrot salad, and an aioli made with sherry vinegar. The resulting dish is fabulously fresh-tasting, vibrant of colour and flavour.
To serve: 4
Time: 20 minutes + 2 hours resting
For the fish:
4 monkfish tails, approx 125g each
2 tsp fennel seeds, crushed
100ml olive oil + 2 tbsp
100ml Barbadillo Barbadillo Vinagre de Jerez Reserva al Moscatel
4 tbsp chopped fresh soft herbs – any mix of tarragon, oregano, chervil or dill
For the salad:
2 medium carrots, peeled
50 ml Barbadillo Vinagre de Jerez Reserva al Moscatel
25ml extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp sugar
2 oranges
30g chopped walnuts
For the saffron aioli:
pinch of saffron
1 large egg yolk
1 tsp dijon mustard
1⁄2 garlic clove, finely chopped
2 tsp Barbadillo Vinagre de Jerez Reserva al Moscatel
100ml vegetable oil
100ml extra virgin olive oil
Sit the monkfish is a bowl. Mix together the fennel seeds, 100ml olive oil, Moscatel vinegar and the chopped fresh herbs then pour all of that over and around the fish. Set aside somewhere cool for 2 hours (or in the fridge if longer), turning the fish over after an hour.
Use a vegetable peeler to cut the carrots into ribbons and into a bowl. Mix together the Moscatel vinegar, oil, sugar and a large pinch of salt. Mix with the carrot ribbons and and set aside until it’s time to cook the fish.
Prepare the oranges by cutting off their top and bottom so they stand flat. Use a small sharp knife to cut around the outside of each orange, removing the peel and white pith. Now hold one of the oranges in your hand and use the knife to carefully cut close to the membranes between the segments to release them. Do this over a bowl to catch the juice, dropping the orange segments into the bowl as you cut. Repeat for both oranges.
To make the saffron aioli: Soak the saffron in a tablespoon of warm water and set aside. Whisk together the egg yolk, mustard, garlic, vinegar and a pinch of salt. Whisk in the oils, going slowly at first. Once all the oil has been incorporated, season and whisk in the saffron and its water.
To cook the fish: Pour the remaining 2 tbsp olive oil into a large frying pan. Get it hot, then lift the monkfish tails out of their marinade and into the hot oil. Turn them over after 2 minutes, cook for 2 minutes more and then take off the heat.
Mix the orange segments and juice into the carrot salad, divide between plates, scatter over the chopped walnuts, then add the cooked monkfish (whole or sliced) along with any juices left behind in the pan. Finish with a good grinding of black pepper and the saffron aioli alongside.