Chargrilled monkfish with artichokes, speck and cannellini beans

After a brief break for a couple of weeks it’s great to be back with another recipe. It was fantastic to get away for a few days up to the Katie’s family farm in Scotland, where the deafening silence and surrounding plush countryside provided a stark and welcome contrast to the frantic rush of the city. I love the outdoors, but funnily enough I do find that it all links back into my love of food. Strolling through the fields we saw deer, hares, pheasants and partridges along with abundant cows and lambs. I couldn’t help thinking that they would all make a fine feast. Even walking next to the river had me eagle-eyed for wild salmon, now coming into their prime season. 

 
Alas on this occasion, those animals remained only for our viewing pleasure. But when it came to the eating there was certainly no disappointment. Upon arrival I marched straight into town to procure a weight of the finest Stornoway black pudding, carrying it proudly like a child who had won a sporting trophy. That was breakfast sorted. Other meals included hot, vinegary fish suppers (always haddock north of the border) by the side of a wind-battered loch, and soothing barley-filled broths huddled around the fire. All humble stuff, but in a situation that will be ingrained in my memory for a long while to come. On the last evening we celebrated with the rest of the family; I rolled a pig in foraged wild garlic and forgot about it in the oven for most of a day, only raising the temperature only at the last minute to blister the fat into a crisp brittle. I won’t even detail the quality of the leftover sandwiches on the journey home…
 
I truly digress as per usual. But now back in London I’m eager to get cooking again. Despite running round like a busy lunatic for most of the week, on my days off I love nothing more than messing around in the kitchen creating new recipes. This monkfish dish combined the comfort of a chunky, grilled bit of fish with delicate, beautiful artichokes, earthy Italian-flavoured beans and the tangy, spring tough of the wild garlic and sorrel.

Serves 2
 
Ingredients:
 
For the monkfish:
 
2 pieces of monkish fillet, approx. 200g each. Skin and sinew removed.
 
For the artichokes:
 
2 large globe artichokes 
1 lemon 
1 garlic clove 
1 glass of white wine 
1 bay leaf
 
For the cannellini beans:
 
400g cooked cannellini beans, drained 
4 slices of speck, finely chopped 
1 garlic clove, grated 
2 sprigs of rosemary, finely chopped 
1 tsp dried oregano 
1 lemon, zest only 
A pinch of dried chilli flakes 
200ml chicken stock
 
For the wild garlic and sorrel oil:
 
A handful of wild garlic leaves 
A few sorrel leaves 
200ml extra virgin olive oil 
1 lemon, juice only
 
For the crispy speck:
 
2 slices of speck
 
To finish:
 
A few wild garlic and sorrel leaves
 

Make the wild garlic and sorrel oil in advance. Bring a large saucepan of water to the boil, and have a bowl of very cold (ideally iced) water ready. Blanche the wild garlic and sorrel leaves for 30 seconds, then immediately transfer to the cold water. When cool, drain and squeeze out as much liquid as possible. Put the leaves into a small food processor with the lemon juice and some seasoning. Turn on the motor and slowly trickle in the olive oil until the herbs are finely chopped and everything is well combined. Pour into a bowl, cover and refrigerate overnight. 

 
Prepare the artichokes by pulling off the harder outer leaves until only the lighter, tender ones remain. Trim the bulb halfway down the leaves and use a melon-baller to scoop out the choke. Peel and trim the stalks. Slice lengthways into quarters. Fill a small saucepan with water, squeeze in the lemon and add with the garlic, wine and bay leaf. Put the trimmed artichokes straight into this liquid to stop them from discolouring. Bring everything to the boil, then simmer gently for 20 minutes, or until the artichokes are tender. Remove the artichokes from the liquid and allow to cool.
 
Pour a little oil into a deep frying pan and set to a medium heat. Add the speck, garlic, oregano, chilli, rosemary and lemon zest and cook for a few minutes until softened and fragrant. Tip in the beans and chicken stock, reduce the heat and cook gently for 15-20 minutes. 

 
Preheat the oven to 180⁰C.
 
Lay the 2 slices of speck onto a lined baking tray. Season with salt and pepper and brush with a little oil. When the oven is hot, bake for about 10 minutes, or until crisp and golden. Break into large shards and set aside.
 
Put a heavy frying pan or griddle onto a high heat. Season the monkfish fillets and cooked artichoke quarters on all sides and rub with olive oil. When the pan is hot, cook the fish for 2-3 minutes on each side, and depending on thickness about 8-10 minutes in total. Add the artichokes to the pan halfway through, allowing a couple of minutes each side until lightly charred. Once cooked, leave the monkfish to rest for a couple of minutes, then slice into thick pieces. 

 
To plate up, spoon a generous amount of the beans onto each plate. Position the slices of monkfish to one side of the beans and arrange the green leaves, charred artichokes and crispy speck pieces around the plate. Finish with a spoonful of the wild garlic and sorrel oil and a good crack of black pepper.

Artichokes, hollandaise and halloumi salads

At last

Finally the sun has come out! It really makes such a difference, and means that the evenings can be made the most of instead of being huddled up inside watching the rain running down the window. 

One of the best things about the summer arriving is that I can eat outside as much as possible. My flat doesn’t have a designated dining room, so when it’s cold it’s mostly eating off my lap, but luckily I do have a good sized balcony. When it’s warm and the evenings are long, I can sneak out and sit at a small table surrounded by plants and the smell of barbecues. 

Globe artichokes with hollandaise 

Like barbecues and picnics, there’s something great about sitting outside and picking at food with your fingers. Globe artichokes are a great way to start any meal outdoors, and they go a lot further than you’d think after scraping the tiny amount of flesh from an individual leaf. Make sure that you peel everything away and get to the lovely tender heart in the middle. 

Hollandaise can sometimes be a bit of a nightmare, but once you find a method that works for you then it can be assembled without too much fuss. It’s definitely worth the effort though, as it works so well with the artichoke, clinging to the leaves much better than a vinaigrette. 

This is such a simple meal, but always looks dramatic and keeps with that interactive outdoor spirit.

Serves 2 as a starter

Ingredients:

2 globe artichokes

2 lemons

For the hollandaise:

2 egg yolks

1 1/2 tbsp white wine vinegar 

1 lemon - juice, put the squeezed lemon in the saucepan with the artichokes

120g butter

Fill a large saucepan with water and salt. Squeeze a lemon into the water and chuck the lemon into the water too.

In a large bowl, season the egg yolks then whisk well until they start to thicken. 

Heat the vinegar and lemon juice in a small saucepan until the mixture starts to boil. Pour slowly over the eggs whilst whisking quickly.

Now melt your butter until it starts to foam. When ready, transfer to a jug and pour very slowly - a few drops at a time - into the egg mixture, whisking all the time. As the butter is incorporated into the mixture it will thicken, but be careful not to add the butter too quickly or it will split. When all the butter has been added, taste and adjust with lemon, salt and pepper, which ever is needed. Cover and put aside until the artichokes are cooked. 

To cook the artichokes, trim the stem and peel off any tough outer leaves. Squeeze over half of the remaining lemon to help prevent discolouring. Plunge the prepped globes into the boiling salty lemony water, and use a colander to keep them submerged. Boil for 25 minutes before checking - try an outer leaf, and if the flesh is still tough then cook for another 5 minutes. 

Once cooked, drain the artichokes and squeeze with the last half of lemon. Serve quickly with a bowl or hollandaise for dipping. 

When I last ate these artichokes, I followed it up with this halloumi salad to make an easy to cook but really tasty week night meal.

Broad bean, radish, green bean and pea salad with grilled halloumi and a herb yoghurt dressing

Halloumi almost always gets used as a vegetarian substitute to a meat dish, and I bet vegetarians get sick of unimaginative hosts plonking it in front of them for every meal. However it is fantastic when simply grilled, and the saltiness goes well with a cooling and sweet salad. 

I’m a bit obsessed with fresh oregano at the moment, and luckily my local greengrocer always has loads of it. It adds such a fragrant citrus taste to anything that it’s added to, from soups to marinades and salads. If you can’t find any, any herb combinations will work, but try and use lots of mint. When seasoning the dressing, you want it to be quite strong, so add a touch more lemon, vinegar and salt than you thing you need, as it will be diluted when eaten with the crisp vegetables.

You can prepare everything but the halloumi (although you can have it  pre-sliced and ready), so as much time can be spent outside with a cold beer without the hassle of cooking up a massive meal. 

Serves 2

Ingredients:

For the salad:

1 block halloumi, sliced into thick rectangular pieces

300g broad beans, podded and shelled

100g french beans, trimmed and cut in half

200g frozen peas

about 8 radishes, thinly sliced
4 spring onions, sliced

3 sprigs mint, leaves picked and torn

1 lemon - juice

a small handful of rocket leaves

Extra virgin olive oil

For the yoghurt dressing:

400ml natural yoghurt

1/2 bunch mint, finely chopped

1/2 bunch fresh oregano, finely chopped

2 lemons, the zest of one and the juice of both

1 tbsp white wine vinegar, plus more if necessary

1 garlic clove, finely chopped

Put some salted water in a saucepan large enough to hold the french beans, broad beans and peas and bring to the boil. 

While the water is boiling, make the dressing. Put the yoghurt in a bowl and add all of the other dressing ingredients. Mix well and taste, adjusting with lemon, vinegar, salt and pepper as it needs. Set aside to infuse while you prepare the vegetables.

When the broad beans, peas and french beans are all trimmed, podded, shelled and sliced and the water has boiled, blanch them for 2 minutes. As soon as two minutes is up, drain the vegetables and plunge them in a large amount of cold water to stop them cooking. Shake as much water from the vegetables as possible, then add a small amount of extra virgin olive oil and squeeze the lemon juice over. Add the radishes, spring onion and mint, season well and mix together, then set aside until ready to plate up.

To cook the halloumi, heat a non-stick frying pan on a medium-high heat with a little oil. When it is hot, fry the halloumi quickly for a couple of minutes on each side until crisp and brown. 

To construct the salad, place a small amount of rocket in the middle of the plate and top with a large heap of the vegetable mixture. Spoon some of the yoghurt over the top, scatter some more mint leaves around and arrange the halloumi around the plate. Tuck in with a glass of wine somewhere nice outside.