Life

James Street Cookery School: Dover sole with mint and asparagus, spiced roast monkfish

Dover sole with mint and asparagus, by James Street Cookery School
Dover sole with mint and asparagus, by James Street Cookery School Dover sole with mint and asparagus, by James Street Cookery School

WITH the hope that we get some good weather this bank holiday weekend, I’ve gone for something a little lighter this week, in the form of two delicious fish dishes.

Quick and easy to cook, fish is a perfect choice for warm nights when you don’t want to have your stove on for too long. A good quality fillet of fish really doesn’t need much; its delicate flavours and fall-off-the-bone texture will speak for itself.

That said, I'll show you how to complement a beautiful Dover Sole with a simple mint and asparagus butter, as well as spicing up monkfish with a mouthwatering sauce, bursting with oriental flavours.

DOVER SOLE WITH MINT AND ASPARAGUS

(Serves 2)

75g butter

1 garlic clove, finely chopped

150g asparagus, cleaned

2 dover sole, 300g, cleaned with top skin and fins removed, bottom skin on but descaled

1 small bunch mint, destalked and chopped

salt and pepper

½ lemon to serve

Method:

Start by cooking your asparagus in a pot of boiling water for approximately three minutes for thin stems of asparagus and five minutes for thicker stems. Once tender refresh under cold water.

Heat the grill to its highest setting. At the same time, melt the butter in a pan. Once melted, brush the butter on a sheet of greaseproof paper, lay the dover sole on top and brush the fish on top with melted butter.

Place under the grill for four to five minutes, remove and baste with more of the butter and cook for a further four minutes or until cooked to the bone. The fish will cook the whole way through under the heat of the grill and does not need to be turned but check and turn if necessary. Place the fish on a plate and leave to the side. Heat the remaining butter for a minute, add in your cooked asparagus and heat through and then add in the mint and serve on top of the dover sole.

SPICED ROAST MONKFISH

(Serves 4)

2 monkfish tails, boned

2 tbsp red Thai curry paste

pinch of ginger

1 teasp coriander seeds, crushed

2 tbsp sesame oil

1 teasp star anise

2 red chilies

2 lemon grass stalks

1 lime, quartered

150ml coconut milk

1 tbsp rice wine vinegar

Method:

Preheat the oven to 200C. Take the two fish tails and spread with the red Thai curry paste. Place the fish on a roasting tin and drizzle with the ginger, coriander and sesame oil.

Scatter the star anise and the red chilies, squeeze over the lime juice and leave the rind and flesh in the pan. Pour over the coconut milk and rice wine vinegar and bake in oven for 20 minutes. The fish will cook to white and there will be a delicious sauce to pour over when serving. Serve with steamed rice.