Monkfish Curry with Wild Cabbage and Worcester Apples

Photo courtesy of Photography by Sadiq

This dish is based on my favorite fish curry recipes, I discovered a lovely recipe for monkfish curry in one of Skye Gyngell's cookbooks. It's not often I follow someone else's recipe, however I do love the way Skye cooks and her books are wonderful. Until she left Petersham Nurseries, it was my favorite restaurant in London and to overcome my withdrawals since she's left, I've been delving into her books.

This version of Skye's monkfish curry is served with peppery foraged wild cabbage. I've also added worcester apples which are currently in season and brown shrimp to balance out the sweet and tart of the apples—a lovely alternative to rice and bread.

800g monkfish sliced into 2cm chunks
400ml coconut milk
400g canned plum tomatoes
1 red onion
25g butter
1 small bunch coriander with roots
3 cloves garlic
2 red chillies
2 tablespoons fish sauce
1 tablespoon palm sugar
1 teaspoon fennel seeds
1 teaspoon coriander seeds
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
2 kaffir lime leaves
1 lime

1 wild cabbage
8 worcester apples
60g brown shrimp
Sea salt
Extra virgin olive oil

METHOD:
Peel and thinly slice the onion, put butter in a large heavy-based pot and place over a low-medium heat to melt. Add the onion and cook gently until onion softens and turns translucent. Place a small fry pan over a medium heat and add the fennel seeds, coriander seeds and mustard. Lightly toast the seeds until fragrant, remove from heat and ground into a rough powder using mortar and pestle then add to onions. Peel and crush the garlic, dice the chillies, finely slice the roots of the coriander and add all three ingredients to the onion along with fish sauce, palm sugar, torn kaffir leaves and juice of the lime. Turn heat up to medium and cook for 5 minutes, add the plum tomatoes and turn heat up until sauce is just bubbling. Cover pot with lid and turn heat down slightly, cook for 20 minutes, stirring periodically.

Cut the apples into quarters and lay over baking tray then drizzle with a couple tablespoons of olive oil. Place apples in oven set at 180ºC for 15 minutes. Remove the large stalk base of the wild cabbage, wash the leaves and slice into 2cm width strips. Place a large pot with lid over a high heat and add a good dash of olive oil, once hot cook the wild cabbage with a good pinch of salt (you may need to do this in 2 batches). When the cabbage is cooked it should have wilted and be a vibrant green colour and still slightly crisp along the center stalky center, not black.

Once the sauce has cooked, add coconut milk and turn up the heat slightly, when the sauce is just simmering stir in the monkfish and remove from heat. Leave to stand for about 4-5 minutes, the heat of the sauce should be enough to cook the fish, making it tender and soft.
Serve the fish curry over a bed of wild cabbage and cooked apples, garnish with brown shrimps and torn coriander leaves.

Passionfruit and Ginger Muffins

Here's a slightly spiced and tropical muffin mixture to keep the sun shinning just a little longer. This mixture is reminiscent of carrot cake and my new favourite muffin variety.

450g plain flour
200g sugar
100g butter
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
100ml coconut milk
100ml buttermilk
2 eggs
8 large passion fruit
2 tablespoons grated ginger
25g sultanas
25g chopped dried apricots
2 tablespoons dessicated coconut 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 teaspoons brown sugar

Method:
Put butter in a small pot and melt, once melted place to one side for cooling. In a large bowl place flour, sugar, baking powder, soda, cinnamon, sultanas, apricots, dessicated coconut and stir together. Scoop the seeds from 6 of the passion fruit into dry mixture, then beat eggs into butter and  pour onto dry ingredients. Then add the ginger, coconut milk and buttermilk, using a butter knife cut through the wet and dry till just combined. Grease a 12 hold muffin pan with oil spray or butter, evenly distribute the muffin mixture into pan. Bake in oven set at 180oC for 25 minutes. While the muffins are cooking spoon the seeds of the 2 remaining passion fruit into small sauce pan and add brown sugar. Place sauce pan over medium heat and cook till passion fruit starts to bubble, remove from heat. Once muffins are cooked brush the passion fruit syrup over muffins and leave to set for 15 minutes before removing muffins from pan.

Strawberry and Coconut Muffins

Air Hair Lair... say this aloud. Another pretty little sweet muffin variety and perfect warm up to the Jubilee and summer. Best served lightly toasted with a horrendous amount of butter and washed down with Bergamot tea (erect pinky optional). 

450g plain flour
200g sugar
100g butter
100ml buttermilk
2 eggs
300g frozen strawberries
250ml coconut milk
60g dessicated coconut
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda

METHOD:
Put butter in a small sauce pan and melt over medium heat then place to one side and cool slightly. In a large mixing bowl add flour, sugar, coconut, cinnamon, baking powder, soda and stir together. Using a sharp knife cut the strawberries in half then stir into dry ingredients. Beat eggs and butter together and pour on to the dry mixture along with buttermilk, coconut milk and vanilla. Using a butter knife cut the dry and wet together combining the 2 mixtures till just under mixed. Grease a 12 hold muffin pan with either butter or oil stray and evenly distribute mixture between the pan. Sprinkle tops of muffins with a little pinch of sugar and bake in pre-heated oven set at 180oC for 25 minutes. Once cooked leave to cool in muffin pan for at least 15 minutes before turning out.

Yukon Carrot Salad with Olives and Walnuts Cooked in Coconut Milk

Fresh batch of yukon carrots arrived last week from Canada, these carrot grow in a dense rich soil at a higher altitude making carrots more intense and sweet. Even better they have been harvested early meaning they are smaller and super tender when baked/poached. I've combined them with walnuts cooked in coconut milk which give a creamy bitter taste and black olives for saltiness. Very health and visual nor is it boring to behold.
Also a massive thank you to Etienne who has once again taken some amazing pictures, this one in particular is one of my favourite shots.

600g yukon carrots
300ml orange juice
3 cloves garlic
12 sprigs thyme
2 dried red chillies
2 bay leaves
1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon sea salt
50ml extra virgin olive oil
200g pitted black olives
100g halved walnuts
150ml coconut milk
70g rocket washed

METHOD:
Trim the tops off carrots and wash then place in deep baking tray with orange juice, thinly sliced garlic, torn thyme and red chillies, bay leaves, honey, salt and olive oil. Roughly mix together and cover in foil, bake in oven set at 180oC for 30 minutes. After the 30minutes roughly mix carrots around in tray and bake uncovered for another 20 minutes. Place walnuts and coconut in small sauce pan and bring to the boil over high heat and cook for 5-7 minutes till milk thickens and coats walnuts. Once carrots are cooked put aside to cool, place olives in food processor and blend for about 5 seconds till roughly diced.
To construct salad you can either make one large platter or make individual plates. On the base lay out rocket leaves then drape over carrots with a little excess cooking liquid and pieces of chilli. Garnish salad with walnuts and a good sprinkling of olives and serve as soon as possible.