6 6-8 oz monkfish steaks, cut from the tail across the bone
salt and ground white pepper
olive oil
3-4 cups of champagne-leek risotto (see recipe)
9-12 oz tomato sauce (see recipe)
3 cups buttered cabbage (see recipe)
1 cup carrots, finely diced and cooked until just tender in water, a bit of butter and salt
1 cup lobster meat, finely diced
1 cups fish, shellfish or chicken stock OR water
½ cup champagne or white wine
6 oz herb butter (see recipe)
white truffle oil
chopped fresh chives
Season each piece of monkfish with salt and white pepper. Heat 2-3 oz olive oil in a non-stick pan and sear each piece of monkfish on both sides. Finish cooking the monkfish in a 350 oven until just cooked through, about 5-7 minutes. Meanwhile make sure the risotto, tomato sauce and cabbage are hot and ready to serve. To make the sauce, combine the cooked carrots, lobster meat, stock OR water and wine in a hot sauce pan. Bring to a boil and let cook just a minute to warm everything through. Whisk in the cold herb butter, a piece at a time, and taste for seasoning. Remove from the heat. To serve the dish, ladle about an ounce and a half of tomato sauce onto the bottom of each shallow bowl. Top with half a cup or so of risotto, flattened to cover most of the sauce. Place some cabbage in the center of the risotto and top with the monkfish. Spoon some carrots and lobster around the fish and then top with some of the butter sauce. Drizzle with white truffle oil and add a sprinkling of chives.
CHAMPAGNE LEEK RISOTTO
(makes 6 cups)
1 pounc arborio rice
1 cup leeks, diced and cleaned
4 oz unsalted butter
½ cup champagne or white wine
3 cups chicken stock, heated
½ cup grated parmesean reggiano
salt and ground white pepper
In a heave based pan melt 2 oz of the butter. Stir in the risotto making sure each grain is coated in the butter. Cook for a moment to seal the grains and add the leeks. Cook until leeks are soft. Stir in the champagne and let cook over medium heat until most of the liquid has been absorbed. Through the entire process you must attempt not to let the risotto stick without stirring too much. Add the warm chicken stock in three batches. Stir at each addition of liquid and then let sit while the liquid is being absorbed by the rice, shaking the pot occasionally to loosen. Taste occasionally to follow the stages of cooking. The final result should be creamy but with a bit of a bite. When finished cooking, stir in the remaining butter and parmesean and season with salt and pepper. If desired, you can cook the risotto 2/3 of the way ahead of time and keep covered in the refrigerator. At time of service you can finish the final stages of cooking.
TOMATO SAUCE
(makes 3 cups)
4 oz unsalted butter
1 onion, diced
2 Tablespoons chopped fresh garlic
32 oz canned whole San Marzano plum tomatoes
salt and freshly cracked black pepper
In a heavy based pan, melt the butter. Add the onions and garlic and cook until the onions are soft. Add the tomatoes, bring to a boil and cook over medium heat about 125 minutes, just until the flavors have melded. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside until cool enough to handle. Puree well, 2-3 minutes, in a blender and strain through a fine meshed sieve. The sauce can be made 2-3 days ahead and kept covered in the refrigerator.
BUTTERED CABBAGE
(makes about 1 quart)
1 medium head green cabbage or 2 quarts, cut into ½ inch bands
1 cup water
4 oz unsalted butter, or more to taste
salt and ground white pepper
Combine the cabbage, water and butter in a sauce pan and let cook until the cabbage is soft and sweet, with some texture remaining – not mush. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Set aside or refrigerate until ready to use.
HERB BUTTER
(makes ½ pound)
½ cup chopped shallots
1 cup white wine
½ pound unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
2 Tablespoons chopped parsley
2 Tablespoons fresh picked thyme
Saute the shallots in a touch of butter until soft. Add the white wine and cook until the wine is totally evaporated and the shallots are dry. Refrigerate the shallots until cool. Whip the softened butter in a mixer and add the shallots, parsley and thyme. Transfer to a container and refrigerate to harden if going to use right away or roll in plastic wrap and keep frozen.
