The market · Fish and seafood · Southern Europe, France and the north-west

Monkfish

A huge-headed fish sold almost only as tails: boneless but for a central spine, with dense, sweet flesh that holds together like lobster in a stew.

sweet · meaty · lobster-like

What to do with it

Classics built on it
CatalanSuquet de peixA fishermen's stew of white fish and potatoes in a saffron-tinted broth, thickened at the end with a picada of garlic, almonds and fried bread.No one here has made it yetAsturianPixín fritoMonkfish — pixín in Asturian — cut into chunks, marinated with garlic and lemon, then floured, dipped in egg and fried.No one here has made it yet

Goes with

saffronbacongarlicromesco

Knowing it

Where to buy
Tails from a fishmonger, ideally skinned with the grey-purple membrane removed — ask them to. The cheeks are a treat if you can get them. Rape in Spain, lotte in France.
Worth knowing
Peel off every bit of membrane, or it shrinks and curls the flesh. It's watery: salt it for 20 minutes and pat dry before roasting, and take it off at about 55°C — it goes from moist to rubbery fast. Roast the bone for stock.

Kitchens that keep it in

Asturias — the green mountains and coast of northern Spain, on the Bay of BiscayAsturianA kitchen of rain and mountains: big white beans stewed with smoked sausage, milk and blue cheese, fish from the Cantabrian Sea, and cider poured from a height.7 classics

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