Tonight we enjoyed Bandari Monkfish from Sabrina Ghayour’s fabulous Middle Eastern cookbook Persiana, bandari signifying the generous use of Iranian spices. The Monkfish, the most grotesque of all sea predators, is also known as the ‘Angler fish’ due to the bizarre anatomical lure protruding from just above its numerous razor-sharp teeth, which are perfectly placed for catching unsuspecting ocean-dwelling prey. Despite its gruesome countenance, Monkfish is very tasty and in the South West we are lucky to enjoy this delicacy- known fondly as ‘poor man’s lobster’ due to its similar taste and texture, all year round. Ironically it now can be a rather expensive treat as, quite rightly, fishing quotas have been put in place to assure that it is being sustainably and ethically sourced, due to a dwindle in numbers a few years ago.
Here is Ghayour’s brilliant Monkfish recipe and I can’t recommend her cookbook enough for this and other wonderful Iranian dishes that you can nicely align with a seasonally-focused diet.
We gave the dish our seasonal spin, adding a homemade crunchy coleslaw of British carrots, cabbage, raisins and mustard mayo; Bombay new British potatoes and organic cucumber raita.
I adapted a few Bombay Potato recipes I found online to create my own:
New potatoes
a handful of spinach
1/4 tsp yellow mustard seeds
1/2 tsp Garam Masala
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp chilli powder
a pinch of salt
olive oil
Chop the new potatoes in quarters and boil until soft but not falling apart, adding a pinch of salt for taste. Leave to rest while you prepare a dry spice mix of 1/2 tsp Garam Masala, 1/2 tsp chilli powder, 1/2 tsp turmeric, and a pinch of salt. Next heat 1/4 tsp yellow mustard seeds in a generous helping of olive oil over a medium heat. Once the mustard seeds are cooked a little add the dry spice mix and coat and cook the potatoes in them for 5 minutes until starting to go crispy around the edge. Lower the heat and throw in the spinach and, with a lid on the pan, leave to gently cook for a further 5 minutes so that all the flavours combine deliciously and the spinach wilts.
A delicious Eastern taste sensation, our seasonal spiced Monkfish was a hit and we will certainly be looking out for more on the local fish counters throughout the seasons. The spices perfectly enhanced the delicious meaty mouthfuls of fish and the complimentary side dishes allowed us to incorporate fresh, local seasonal veggies. Yum! E&H
Seasonal 365 