Monkfish With Caper Butter
- Total Time
- 15 minutes
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
- 12monkfish medallions, ½-inch thick (about 2 pounds)
- ½cup all-purpose flour
- 1teaspoon dry mustard
- Salt and ground black pepper
- 6tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1tablespoon finely minced shallots
- 2tablespoons drained capers
- 2tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1tablespoon lemon juice
- 1tablespoon minced tarragon leaves
- Lemon wedges, for serving
Nutritional analysis per serving (6 servings)
302 calories; 19 grams fat; 8 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 7 grams monounsaturated fat; 2 grams polyunsaturated fat; 9 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram dietary fiber; 0 grams sugars; 23 grams protein; 442 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
- Step 1
Remove any gray membrane from the fish. Mix flour and mustard together and season with salt and pepper. Dip the fish slices in seasoned flour on one side only and arrange on a plate, floured side up.
- Step 2
Melt the butter in a small skillet. Add the shallots and cook on medium until both the butter and shallots have browned and acquired a nutty aroma. Do not allow them to blacken. Remove from heat, stir in capers, season with salt and pepper and set aside.
- Step 3
Warm 6 dinner plates or a platter. Heat olive oil in a large skillet, preferably cast iron. When very hot, add the fish medallions, floured side down, and sauté until they turn golden, no more than a minute or so. Transfer them, cooked side up, to the plates or platter.
- Step 4
Briefly warm the caper sauce. Add the lemon juice and tarragon and spoon a little of the sauce over each medallion. Garnish with lemon wedges and serve.
Private Notes
Comments
Very nice. My only (tiny) issue is the suggestion to flour one side only. That is nice in theory but in practice monkfish medallions are somewhat irregular in shape and the unique floured side doesn't necessarily turn golden. Next time I will make slightly bigger pieces, flour all over and toss over high heat, as I usually do. I served them with braised endives.
Great recipe. I agree with earlier posting to increase amount of dry mustard--you'll have to experiment on that measurement.
I've made this recipe twice. The first time I floured one side of the fish and that worked great; the second time, with thicker fillets, I floured both sides because I had to turn the fish to ensure thorough cooking. I'd say whatever fish you use, use thickness as your gauge: thinner, flour one side. Thicker, you'll need both!
Very good! I will make a couple of adjustments next time. I'll increase the amount of ground mustard, as we found it unnoticeable. And if I decide to serve it over sautéed spinach again, as I did this time, I will not add garlic to the spinach, as it overwhelmed the delicate sauce.
Instead of slicing into 1/2" medallions , I cooked the entire filet not taking into account the density of the thick filet. Also I didn't have mustard powder so I brushed dijon on one side under the flour and cooked in a cast iron pan. The filets stuck to the pan, probably because of the wet mustard, and took a long time to cook. Next time I will likely bake the entire filet in the oven. Monkfish is very rich and lobster like and seems too good, and expensive to fry.
This recipe worked well as written. My monkfish was a little thicker, and I did a quick flip on a couple of the pieces but I only floured the one side. The recipe mentioned a membrane which I did not see at all when the fish was raw. But when cooked, I did find a membrane on my piece. I have cooked lingcod but not monkfish and I was a little surprised at the texture. I was expecting something more like sea bass or cod, but this fish isn’t really flakey. I made half a batch but I made a whole batch of dredging material and I should have only made half a batch of that as well. 1/4 cup just didn’t seem like it would coat my 6 pieces, but more than half the dredge was left. I agree with previous reviewers that the mustard flavor is not prominent.
Monkfish is a favorite of mine and this recipe is perfect as is. Couldn't find my dry mustard so I substituted with turmeric and it MAY have been even better, definitely just as good. Sticking to the cooking directions....VERY hot pan, 1/2" slices, one side only....allows the monkfish to cook through and results in the desired texture of monkfish. I wouldn't use the method on anything else.