'Two tails' - monkfish and oxtail, herb pancake, smoked bacon and parsnip
- medium
- 4
- 2 hours
This hearty monkfish recipe by Will Holland is filled with autumnal flavours and would make a fantastic alternative to a Sunday roast, with meaty monkfish paired with salty pancetta, parsnips and a heady red wine sauce. The cooking time for the oxtail might seem a little long, but the sous vide technique will result draw out the meat's natural flavour resulting in meltingly tender flesh.
First published in 2015
Ingredients
Metric
Imperial
Monkfish
- 500g of monkfish fillet, trimmed
- 12 slices of pancetta
- salt
Red wine sauce
- 1 knob of butter
- 1 onion, roughly chopped
- 3 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
- 50g of button mushrooms, roughly chopped
- 200ml of red wine
- 4 sprigs of thyme
- 4 black peppercorns
- 1.25l brown chicken stock
Herb pancakes
- 100g of egg
- 50g of plain flour
- 100ml of milk
- 30ml of water
- 1 pinch of chopped dill
- 1 pinch of chopped parsley
To serve
- 2 parsnips
- oil
- 1 tbsp of honey
- 10g of Parmesan, finely grated
- 1 lime, zest only
- 2 slices of smoked bacon
SAVE RECIPE
Equipment
- Chamber sealer
- Vacuum bags
- Water bath
- Steamer
Method
1
Preheat a water bath to 90°C
3
Meanwhile, make the sauce. Place a large pan over a high heat, melt the butter and add the onions, mushrooms and garlic to the pan. Cook until caramelized, then add the red wine and reduce by half
- 1 knob of butter
- 1 onion, roughly chopped
- 3 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
- 50g of button mushrooms, roughly chopped
- 200ml of red wine
4
Add the thyme, peppercorns and chicken stock to the pan and simmer over a medium heat until reduced to a sauce-like consistency, skimming the surface of the sauce regularly to remove any impurities. Once reduced, pass it through a fine sieve followed by a muslin cloth and reserve, keeping warm until ready to serve
- 4 sprigs of thyme
- 4 black peppercorns
- 1.25l brown chicken stock
5
Remove the cooked oxtail from the vacuum bag and flake the meat from the bone. Discard the bones and reserve the meat, keeping warm until required
6
For the pancakes, combine the ingredients together in a mixing bowl and whisk until smooth. Pre-heat a small non-stick frying pan until hot, then add just enough of the pancake batter to coat the base of the pan. Cook for approximately 30 seconds on each side and tip onto a plate, repeating the process until you have four wafer thin pancakes
- 100g of egg
- 50g of plain flour
- 100ml of milk
- 30ml of water
- 1 pinch of chopped dill
- 1 pinch of chopped parsley
7
Line four small round moulds or ramekins each with a pancake and fill with the flaked oxtail. Fold the tops of the pancakes over to completely encase the oxtail and cover the moulds tightly in cling film. Reserve in the fridge until required
8
Preheat a water bath to 47°C
9
For the monkfish, line the work surface with a large piece of cling film and arrange the pancetta slices side by side over the top – the slices should overlap slightly along the length of the cling film to form a sheet of pancetta
- 12 slices of pancetta
10
Place the monkfish loin on top of the pancetta and roll the cling film around the monkfish and pancetta to form a wrapped monkfish loin. Tie each end with cling film then place in a vacuum bag and seal. Cook in the water bath for 30 minutes
- 500g of monkfish fillet, trimmed
11
Meanwhile, peel and roughly chop the parsnips for the purée. Place in a saucepan and cover with milk and water, then bring to the boil and simmer gently until the parsnips are soft and cooked through
- 500g of parsnip
- 400ml of milk
- 400ml of water
13
Fry the bacon in a non-stick frying pan without oil until completely crispy, then drain and leave to cool. Chop into a fine crumb or blitz in a food processor until it forms a coarse powder
- 2 slices of smoked bacon
14
Peel and cut the remaining parsnips into 2cm dice. Blanch in boiling salted water for 2–3 minutes, then plunge into iced water to refresh. Drain the parsnips and dry thoroughly on a kitchen towel
- 2 parsnips
16
Steam the oxtail stuffed pancakes for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, remove the monkfish from the vacuum bag and cling film and sear in a hot pan for 1 minute on all sides until the pancetta is coloured. Season, then allow to rest for a few minutes before carving into equal sized medallions
17
To serve, spoon a generous helping of sauce onto each plate and place the steamed pancakes into the centre. Swirl the parsnip purée around the pancake, top the pancake with a piece of monkfish and arrange pieces of parsnip in a circle across the purée. Sprinkle over a pinch of smoked bacon powder and serve
First published in 2015
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