Monk fish with purple carrot puree
Living in a city like Sydney, we are spoilt for choice when it comes to ocean fresh seafood. It is no wonder the Sydney Fish Market is the third largest fish market in the world. Our list of favourite fish is lengthy and include salmon, ocean trout, flathead, coral trout, blue-eye cod, tuna, kingfish, ocean perch, sea bass and the list goes on. But one of my all-time favourites is the ugly looking monk fish.
"Hey there good looking!" (Photo source: erincooks.com)
I believe God is always fair and if He made you so ugly, he would compensate by making your flesh succulent and tender. Isn’t that fair?
To me, the best way to cook monk fish is to either barbeque on a hot-grill or a quick sear in the frying pan. To accompany this fish, Mysaucepan suggested a purple carrot puree which I thought was a brilliant idea. The creamy carrot puree is sweet and light whilst its deep purple colour is a great contrast against the white flesh of the monk fish. A side of broccolini salad is light and refreshing to complement the fish.
This recipe is simple and only require a few key ingredients.
Broccolini, tomatoes and purple carrots
Ingredients
400 – 500 gm of monk fish fillets
2 ripened tomatoes
1 bunch of broccolini
2 purple carrots
1 lemon
1 cup of extra virgin olive oil
Method
Monk fish
1. Shave and cut the carrots into small pieces, then steam with the broccolini.
Tip 1: the carrots release its purple colour when shaved so be cautious in handling to not stain other foods and clothing.
2 Lightly dust the monk fish fillets with a little corn flour and sea salt.
3. Heat frying pan with 4 teaspoons of EVOO and gently sear the fish fillets on each side until golden brown.
Tip 2: Flip the fish only once so that each side is sufficient brown and avoid over-cooking as the flesh is rather delicate.
4. Place the monk fish over a bed of carrot puree and spoon a little of the tomato dressing around the puree.
5. Add a drizzle of EVOO and freshly cracked black pepper and serve immediately.
Broccolini salad
1. Diced ripened tomatoes and add a pinch of sea salt, freshly cracked black pepper, a twist of lemon juice and a splash of good extra virgin olive oil.
2. Spoon the tomato dresssing onto steamed broccolini and serve.
Purple carrots have a beautiful cross-section with different starry patterns.
Purple carrots
You can use a mandolin to shave the carrots into thin cross-section slices for a beautiful salad.
Tomato salad dressing
My favourite salad dressing is simple, light and healthy.
Broccolini salad with tomato dressing
The tomato dressing adds a sweet tangy taste to the crunchy broccolini.
Sear monk fish fillets
For this dish, I strongly recommend Peter Lehmann Dry Riesling from Eden valley in the Barrosa.
2010 Peter Lehmann Dry Riesling
This wine has nice citrusy flavours and is also a good complement with fresh oysters, prawns and Asian-inspired dishes.
Monk fish with purple carrot puree
So dear readers, what is your favourite fish?
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Peter Lehmann of the Barossa
Para road, Tanunda
South Australia 5352
Cellar door (08) 8565 9555
Winery (08) 8565 9500
Email: cellar.door@peterlehmannwines.com
Cellar Door wine tasting and sales:
Monday to Friday 9.30am – 5.00pm
Saturday, Sunday & Public Holidays 10.30am – 4.30pm
Closed Good Friday and Christmas Day
See Location Map
Another nice meal prepared by you…! This makes my mouth water!
I love this! 😀
My dad has always loved to fish (he still does), and as long as I can remember, he has provided us with freshly caught fish. He did so perfectly that I didn’t know meat as a child, just fish. (I honestly believed that chicken and beef meat was just a special kind of fish.)
I like white fish the best: cod, perch, plaice, zander. Gradually, though, I also come to like red fish like sea trout, wild salmon, salmon, and tuna.
I’m laughing trying to picture a 2-legged or 4-legged fish
I’ve never heard of zander and just checked that it’s probably what we call a perch here in Oz.
Thanks for stopping by. Hope the Aeolian harp etude is going well
As you know, I like stopping by here.
I think zander is a little bigger than perch. They’re definitely the same family of fish.
Haven’t started with the Aeolian Harp yet. First, I want to refresh the old pieces. In a few weeks I’ll start, I think, then I’ll tell you how it’s going.
Oh, and I like that you have a riesling there! 😀 You know, that’s *the* classical German white vine! One of my favorites, and perhaps one of the vines that express the ground on which they’ve grown the most. I love riesling from the Mosel river the most because there it grows on slate and thus has a wonderful cool and mineralic flavor. I haven’t tried any riesling from elsewhere than Germany and Alsace yet, so I can only refer to those.
Yes, the great variety from the Rhine and one of my favourites because the good ones can age really well. I have some pretty old ones and it’s dark golden when opened and you can smell the aromas of an aged wine. It’s great in summer though we are getting into winter soon
I am jealous! What a wonderful selection of fish and produce you have! My favorite fish are shrimp and salmon. I live about 6 hours from the nearest coastline, which also is not known for it’s great quality of fish. If I eat fish while at home, the fish has been frozen first. When I go to a city near a coast, I am a much more adventurous diner.
Hi Amanda,
We are indeed very lucky that seafood is plentiful here and we try to eat more fish since it’s healthy and tastes delicious.
Looks yum! I love fish and it looks nicely seared. I like the carrot puree a lot. Lovely color!
So true, the monkfish is not the prettiest beast but it is worth it for the looks. It’s perhaps Miss Congeniality in the beauty pageant 😉
No offence to any Miss Congenialities out there! 😛
Wonderful pictures! I have never made this fish and love following the pictures to see exactly how you prepare it.
This sounds delicious, I love the flavours! I like almost all fish, but baltic herring is one of my favourites!
lol I have never seen a picture of a real monkfish before, they are definitely not something you would like to run into while swimming in the ocean!
Better than running into a great white and they are probably tough as nails to eat
I always get a little surprise when I come to your site. Surprise means a good one. It’s fun to read and I learn new things such as Sydney is #3 largest fish market in the world, the existence of purple carrots (!!!) and you cook monk fish! What a fun read… Thanks!
Hi Nami,
I always get a surprise when I go to your site too, good one that is
Like Japanese curry … I thought all you guys eat is fish, raw fish, whale and raw whale 
Whereas in Canberra, you can order natural oysters at a restaurant and be served morsels the size of your thumb nail that taste of metal. Boo!
This a completely gorgeous dish, rant aside! I’ve seen purple carrots at the supermarket recently but haven’t yet made the splurge
Hey Hannah,
Surely seafood in Canberra is better than that?? Where would all the pollies go to splurge on their business accounts then?
Purple carrots do not cost much more than the regular ones though.
Oh, I envy that fish market so much! Really good fish and variety is so rare around here so we have to take full advantage when we travel. Those carrots make such a beautiful puree!
I absolutely agree with your theory that if you are not blessed in one aspect, you’ll be blessed in another. I love a good drop of Riesling and the fish looks delicious.
You are truly blessed when it comes to buying fresh fish. That dish looks so scrumptious and refined tasting! I love Lehmann wines.
Cheers,
Rosa
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Wow, nice dish…I had monk fish only once and it was yummie…but never seen one…like how you prepared it with the broccolini salad and purple carrots. Have a great day
That is a beautiful meal – made with an uglier than sin fish!
I like most fish- and my favorite depends on where I am. On the East Coast, I like flounder , in Hawaii, mahi mahi and yellow fin tuna- here in the Midwest of the US,
I like Lake Erie walleye or bass or trout. Fresh would be the major consideration.
I really love your tomato salad dressing. That is going on my next salad
Boy, I never knew monk fish were so scary looking! Your dish looks great though.
Purple carrot puree sounds so much more exciting and exotic than regular carrot puree.
wow! what a great looking meal!
Canberra only has a couple of small fishmarkets at the fresh food markets, and I used to work at the one in Belconen. The shonky owner would sell mixed reef fish fillets as flathead fillets and charge $36kg. The reef fish, although lovely, was a much cheaper product, and shouldn’t have been marketed as anything else.
I get discouraged when the best I can find is frozen imported stuff, although at Coles today they were selling FRESH sardines for $3.99 kg!