When making the oil for the emulsion in this dish, you can substitute the green garlic with wild garlic leaves or dill. Treat the same way in order to obtain the flavoured oil.
Ingredients (serves 2)
- For the monkfish
- 250g tail of monkfish
- 2 tbsp flour
- Extra virgin olive oil for deep frying, approx. 500ml
For the batter
- 100g plain flour
- 150ml lager beer
- 7g yeast
- A pinch of salt
- A pinch of sugar
For the shallot puree
- 5 banana shallots, peeled and sliced
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 25g butter
- 2 tbsp double cream
For the onion ash
- 3 white onions
For the green garlic emulsion
- 150ml green garlic oil* (you can make an equally delicious oil by replacing green garlic with dill or wild garlic)
- 1 soft boiled egg
- Squeeze of lemon
*For the green garlic oil
- 250ml of sunflower oil
- 150g green garlic (only the green parts finely sliced)
- 50g spinach
- A handful of parsley leaves
For the quick pickled green garlic
- A few slices of the white part of the green garlic
- 50ml white wine vinegar
- 25g sugar
- 100ml water
Method
Preheat the oven to 180 0C. Cut the onions in half and put them on a lined baking tray.
Roast the onions for 90 minutes. Take out of the oven and leave to cool a little so as to be able to handle. Separate the onion layers and spread on the tray. Place back in the oven and roast at 1100C for 3-4 hours till dry and crispy. Blitz in a spice grinder or a small blender to a dust.
For the green garlic oil, slice thinly the green parts of garlic to the desired quantity. Bring a pan of water to the boil and drop the green garlic in it. Remove with a slotted spoon after 30 seconds and run under a cold tap to cool.
Squeeze the garlic of all excess water and place it with the spinach and parsley leaves in a small blender. Add a pinch of salt and the sunflower oil little by little while blitzing for a couple of minutes to break down the greens as much as possible. Using a piece of muslin over a bowl, strain the olive oil and discard the leaves.
To make the shallot puree, bring a pan onto a medium heat. Add the olive oil and the shallots. Stir for a minute, reduce the heat and cook covered for 45-50 minutes till caramelised. Take away from the heat and leave to cool. Once cool, take 1-2 tbsp of the shallot oil and reserve. Blitz the shallots in a small blender with the cream until smooth. Season with some sea salt and freshly ground black pepper and transfer to a piping bag.
For the pickled green garlic rings, bring all the ingredients to the boil and stir to melt the sugar. Leave to cool. Drop the garlic rings into the pickling solution and leave for 30 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and keep for serving.
To make the batter, mix all the ingredients together in a bowl, cover with a towel and leave in a warm place for the yeast to work (30-45 minutes). Move to a cool place and keep till needed.
Wash and trim the fish, removing the bone and the sinew surrounding the flesh. Cut the flesh in pieces of no more than 2cm square. Pat dry and season with some sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.
To cook the fish, bring a pan half full with olive oil to 183-185 degrees. Dust the monkfish with flour and dip in the batter. Drop in the oil and fry for 3 minutes moving it around with a spoon to obtain an even colour. When golden brown, remove the fish pieces with a slotted spoon and drain on kitchen paper.
Mix the oil reserved from the shallots with the onion powder and work with your hands to create little crumb like clusters.
To serve, lay the monkfish pieces on a plate. Arrange dots of the shallot puree and the green garlic emulsion between the monkfish pieces. Sprinkle the onion dust and serve with some green leaves and the pickled garlic rings.