Monkfish with Eggplant Allioli

Monkfish is one of my go to fish as it’s simple to cook and fairly economical.  Roasting is the easiest method of cooking monkfish, but I find roast monkfish to be somewhat boring in flavor and not at all aesthetically pleasing (think of an all-white blob on a plate).  Fortunately, this recipe for Roast Monkfish with Eggplant Allioli and Sautéed Yellow Peppers from Anya von Bremzen’s The New Spanish Table resolves many of the deficiencies I find with roast monkfish.  By browning the allioli, the fish takes on a leopard skin-like appearance that is much more pleasing to the eye than the usual white-on-white roast monkfish flavor.  Most importantly, the eggplant allioli gives the dish a smoky flavor that lends nuance to each bite. 

Monkfish with Eggplant Allioli

Adapted from The New Spanish Table

For the allioli:

• 1 Asian eggplant
• 3 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 egg
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• ¾ cup olive oil
• Kosher salt, to taste

For the fish:

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 4 yellow bell peppers, thinly sliced
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 tbsp dry white wine
• 4 6 oz. monkfish fillets, gray membrane removed
• Kosher salt

Directions:

1. Make the allioli.  First, char the eggplant skin over the flame of a gas burner.  Frequently rotate the eggplant with thongs until the skin is completely charred, about 7 minutes.  Let the eggplant cool on a plate until it is cool enough to touch, then peel away and discard the skin.  Coarsely chop the eggplant and put it in the bowl of a food processor.  Add garlic, egg, and lemon juice to the food processor.  Run the food processor until the ingredients are pureed.  With the motor still running, slowly pour in ¾ cup olive oil and continue running the food processor until the mixture is well emulsified.  Season the allioli with salt and set aside for at least 30 minute to let the flavors meld.
2. Heat the oven to 450F. 
3. Heat 2 tbsp olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Add the peppers and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until the peppers soften, about 3 minutes.  Add the wine, reduce the heat to a simmer, cover, and cook the peppers until they are very soft, about 25 minutes.  Stir the peppers occasionally.
4. Season the fish fillets with salt and brush it all over with olive oil.  Let the fish sit for 10 minutes. 
5. Plan the fish on a baking sheet and roast until it is cooked through, about 15 minutes.  Remove the fish from the oven. 
6. Preheat the broiler.
7. Top each fillet with a few spoonfuls of the allioli.  Broil the fish until the allioli browns, about 3 minutes.  Set the fish over the peppers and the pepper cooking liquid and serve immediately. 

Romesco Sauce

Romesco sauce is a tomato- and nut-based Spanish condiment. Its smoky flavors go equally well with meat, seafood, and vegetables. While romesco traditionally contains hazelnuts in addition to almonds, I substituted pine nuts, which I prefer, for the hazelnuts. I served the romesco over broiled snapper fillets.

Romesco Sauce

Ingredients:

• 3 ripe tomatoes
• 1/2 cup almonds
• 1/2 cup pine nuts
• 2 slices country bread
• 10 cloves garlic, peeled
• 3/4 cup olive oil
• 1/2 cup sherry vinegar
• 1 piquillo pepper, or 1 roasted red pepper
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• salt, to taste

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 450F.
2. Cut the tomatoes in half. Place, the tomato halves, garlic, nuts, and bread on a baking sheet and roast until the nuts begin to brown, about 10 minutes.
3. Place the tomatoes, garlic, nuts, and bread in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until they are well blended and there are no large chunks.
4. Add the olive oil, vinegar, roasted pepper, and paprika to the food processor and pulse until well blended. Pour the romesco into a large bowl and taste for salt.
5. Refrigerate the romesco for at least 8 hours or overnight to let the flavors meld. Serve it at room temperature.

Gazpacho

I couldn't let summer pass by without making a batch of gazpacho. This past Labor Day weekend, I used a recipe from Anya von Bremzen's The New Spanish Table to make the Spanish tomato-based soup that is a celebration of summer's bounty. I was slightly dismayed when my soup turned out pink in color, as every other gazpacho I've eaten is bright red, but fortunately the flavor profile was every bit as bright as any gazpacho I've had.

Gazpacho
Serves 8

Ingredients:

• 2 cups cubed day-old country bread, crust removed
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/4 tsp kosher salt
• 1/8 tsp cumin seeds
• 3 lbs. ripe tomatoes, cored, seeded, and chopped
• 1 small red onion, minced
• 1 Italian frying pepper, cored, seeded, and chopped
• 1 red bell pepper, cored, seeded, and chopped
• 2 kirby cucumbers, peeled and chopped
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1/2 cup chilled water
• 3 tbsp sherry vinegar

Directions:

1. Place salt, garlic, and cumin in a mortar and pestle and mash to a smooth paste.
2. Place bread in a bowl and cover with cold water. Let sit for 10 minutes. Drain and squeeze lightly to extract excess water.
3. Place bread, tomatoes, peppers, onion, cucumbers, and salt mixture in a large bowl. Let sit for ten minutes.
4. Place half of tomato mixture in the bowl of a food processor. Add 1/4 cup of olive oil and process until smooth, approximately one minute. Pour the mixture into a large bowl.
5. Place remaining tomato mixture in the bowl of the food processor along with 1/4 cup olive oil. Process until smooth and pour it into the bowl containing the rest of the soup.
6. Add sherry vinegar and water to the soup. Pour into a blender, or using an emulsion blender, blend until the mixture is completely smooth. Taste soup for salt and vinegar.
7. Place soup in the refrigerator and chill for at least two hours before serving.

Migas: Breadcrumbs Fit for a Spanish King

I often marvel at the make more with less mantra that existed before the days of fast food and frozen meals. Migas, meaning "breadcrumbs" in Spanish, is the epitome of this thinking. Peasants from southern Spain had the grand idea to combine some very stale bread, cured sausage, garlic, olive oil, and a fried egg and call it dinner. It's certainly a gut bomb but a delicious one at that. Migas peasant food at its best; I can rest assured that as bad as the economy may get, I'll always have migas to eat.

Migas
Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 1/2 loaf of day-old European-style bread, torn into small cubes
• 4 cloves of garlic, peeled and thinly sliced
• 1/2 lb. chorizo, diced
• 1/4 cup olive oil

Directions:

1. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat.
2. Add garlic to pan and cook until golden and fragrant, about 2 minutes. Remove garlic with slotted spoon and set aside in a bowl.
3. Add chorizo to skillet and cook until slightly browned, about 5 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and add to the garlic.
4. Add bread and stir to coat with oil. Sprinkle bread with a handful of water to moisten it a bit. Cook, mashing it with the back of a spoon so that it crumbles into smaller pieces, until golden and crunchy, about ten minutes. Add more oil if pan dries out.
5. Add garlic and chorizo to pan and stir to until heated through, about a minute.
6. Serve on plates topped with a fried or poached egg.

Paella!

Having received rave reviews for my arroz con pollo I decided that it was time to move on to the next level of Spanish cuisine and attempt paella. Due to some last minute substitutions of chicken broth for shrimp broth (I didn't have the time to boil a bunch of shrimp shells) and pimenton for sweet paprika, not to mention my use of a skillet instead of the traditional paella pan, my dish was not 100% authentic. It was not the best, though by far not the worst, paella I've eaten, but it was certainly something I'll make again and improve upon; paella is not nearly as difficult or expensive to make as one might think. Below are some pictures of my paella project:

My mise en place (littleneck clams, monkfish, squid, shrimp, tomatoes, garlic, pimenton, bomba rice, olive oil):



Sauteing the squid, tomatoes, and garlic:


Meanwhile, the broth was simmering with a pinch of saffron:


In goes the broth with clams and the monkfish:


Out of the oven:


In go the shrimp, which I cooked separately:

Arroz con Pollo

Pimentón must be the most often reached for spice on my spice rack. Nearly any mundane dish, from chickpeas to chicken breasts, can be instantly improved with a healthy dose of pimentón. Of course, this smoked paprika is most at home in Spanish dishes; this one reason for my undying love for Spanish cuisine. The other night, I made arroz con pollo. The below recipe is adapted from one that appears in Penelope Casas' The Food & Wines of Spain. My rice was slightly more moist than it should have been due to my use of canned tomatoes (fresh tomatoes in NYC in November, fugghedabbout it) and a fairly fatty chicken (should have drained some of the fat), but the flavor was dead on, thanks to the pimentón, of course.


Arroz con Pollo
Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 1 chicken, cut into pieces
• 6 Tb olive oil
  
• 2 green peppers, chopped
• 2 small yellow onions, chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 canned tomatoes, drained and chopped
• 2 piquillo peppers, drained and chopped
• 1 Tb hot pimentón
• 1/4 tsp. saffron
• 2 cups bomba rice
• 3 1/2 cups homemade chicken broth
• 1/2 cup white wine
• salt and pepper, to taste
  
• Minced parsely, for garnish

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325F
2. Salt chicken pieces
3. Add olive oil to a large skillet (or paella pan, if you have it) and heat over med-high
4. Add chicken to pan and cook until nicely browned, about 7 min. per side. Remove chicken to plate and set aside.
5. Add green peppers, onions, and garlic to pan. Cook until peppers have softened, about 6 min. Reduce heat if necessary so that vegetables do not brown.
6. Add tomato and piquillo peppers to pan and cook about 5 min.
7. Add paprika, pimentón, and rice to pan. Stir to coat rice with oil.
8. Pour in broth and wine. Add salt and pepper and bring to a boil. Cook until rice has absorbed most of the liquid, about ten min.
9. Place chicken pieces over rice and place skillet in oven. Cook for 15 min.
10. Remove pan from oven and let sit, covered, for 10 min.
11. Garnish with parsley and serve.