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.

Ginger Curried Chickpeas with Water Mint, Cucumber, Goats cheese, Bourbon and Rose Dressing

I created this salad several months ago but this image got lost in a catalogue of pictures I have. Not sure how this one slipped by as it's defiantly one of my favourite salad this year. Ridiculously healthy, wonderfully fragrant and all drizzled in a floral boozy dressing. 

I've also used water mint in this salad, a foraged item commonly found on edges of streams, damp meadows and ponds throughout England and can be used just like regular mint. This recipe should make around 4-6 portions depending on your portion sizes.

500g dried chickpeas
1 teaspoon bicarbonate soda
400g canned plum tomatoes
1 carrot, peeled and roughly cubed
1 red pepper, roughly diced
1 red onion, peeled and sliced
2 sticks celery, roughly cubed
3 cloves garlic, crushed
3 tablespoons freshly grated ginger
300ml apple juice
1 teaspoon fennel seeds
1 teaspoon coriander seeds
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
50ml extra virgin olive oil
1 cucumber
200g goats cheese
100g bunched water mint
200ml bourbon
2 teaspoons rose water
Sea salt
70g baby spinach, washed

Method:
Soak chickpeas in a large pot of water for 8 hours or overnight. Once soaked, drain and rinse chickpeas under cold running water. Place chickpeas back in pot and fill with water, add the soda and place over a high heat and bring to the boil. Using a slotted spoon remove the foam that forms on the surface of water. Cook the chickpeas until tender and fluffy then drain and cool under cold running water.

In a small fry pan add the fennel seeds, coriander, cumin and mustard seed, place over a medium heat and gently toast the seeds until fragrant (make sure you don't burn them as this will taint the flavour of the chickpeas). Once gently toasted, place seeds in a mortar and pestle and ground into a powder.

Using a large high rimmed baking tray or casserole dish with lid, add the chickpeas, tomato, carrot, red pepper, onion, celery, garlic, ginger, apple juice, ground spice, olive oil and a tablespoon sea salt. Gently stir together, cover with a lid or foil and place in oven set at 180ºC for 1 hour. Halfway through cooking stir cover and place back in oven.

Once cooked, leave to stand for 20 minutes covered. In the meantime, slice cucumber in half lengthways and scoop out the seeds, cut cucumber in half again lengthways and roughly cube. To make the salad, I suggest you do individual portions, first lay down some spinach leaves followed by a couple large spoonfuls of chickpeas. Gently break up desired amount of goats cheese over salad, then tear water mint over salad. Lastly mix the burbon and rose water together and drizzle a couple of teaspoon of dressing over each salad. 

Apple, Celery, and Curry Muffins

Here's another savoury muffin variety that smells amazing when baking. I have to concentrate and make sure my mouth is closed when these start to bake as I tend to dribble (not a pretty sight). Now the days are getting shorter and apple season is apon us this is a novel way of using apples in a savoury treat. The ultimate comfort snack.

450g plain flour
100g salted butter
2 eggs
100ml milk
100ml butter milk
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon curry powder
70g grated cheddar
1 large stick celery
1 bramley apple
Small handful coriander leaves chopped
Cracked pepper

METHOD:
Melt butter and leave to cool slightly, place flour, baking powder, soda, curry powder and a good cracking of pepper into a large mixing bowl and roughly combine. Peel the apple and grate then add to the dry ingredients along with the cheese and coriander, stir till apple is coated in flour. Wash the celery stick and slice into 4 lengthways then roughly dice into small cubes, add to the mixing bowl.
Beat the eggs into butter and fold into dry mixture along with buttermilk and milk. Using a butter knife cut the dry and wet ingredients together gradually till just under combined. Grease a 12 hold muffin pan with either spray oil or butter and evenly spoon the mixture into pan. Bake muffin at 180oC for 25 minutes till golden brown, once cooked leave to stand in pan for 10 minutes before removing.