Equipment
Ingredients
Main Ingredients
- 800 g monkfish fillet, membrane removed, cut into 5cm chunks
- 150 g smoked lardons, cut into thick matchsticks
- 200 g pearl onions, peeled
- 250 g cremini mushrooms, cleaned and quartered
Sauce and Aromatics
- 15 ml olive oil
- 400 ml dry red wine
- 250 ml fish stock
- 30 g tomato paste
- 3 garlic, minced
- 1 bouquet garni, tied with kitchen twine
Thickener and Garnish
- 30 g unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 20 g all-purpose flour
- 10 g fresh parsley, finely chopped
- salt
- black pepper
Nutrition (per serving)
Nutrition is estimated per serving. Nutrients without complete source data are omitted.
Full nutrition
- Calories
- 516 kcal
- Protein
- 38 g
- Carbohydrates
- 19 g
- Fat
- 25 g
- Fiber
- 3 g
- Sugar
- 5 g
- Sodium
- 990 mg
- Saturated Fat
- 7 g
- Monounsaturated Fat
- 8 g
- Polyunsaturated Fat
- 8 g
- Cholesterol
- 67 mg
- Potassium
- 1553 mg
- Calcium
- 75 mg
- Iron
- 2.9 mg
- Magnesium
- 84 mg
- Phosphorus
- 595 mg
- Zinc
- 2.1 mg
- Vitamin A
- 94 mcg
- Vitamin C
- 12 mg
- Vitamin D
- 0.1 mcg
- Vitamin E
- 3.5 mg
- Vitamin K
- 45 mcg
- Vitamin B6
- 0.9 mg
- Vitamin B12
- 2.3 mcg
- Thiamin
- 1.84 mg
- Riboflavin
- 0.72 mg
- Niacin
- 10.6 mg
- Folate
- 63 mcg
- Water
- 446 g
- Alcohol
- 11 g
Sources: Aggregated Public Data, USDA FoodData Central
Method
Pat the monkfish chunks completely dry with paper towels and season generously with salt and black pepper.
Place the large Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the lardons and fry until the fat has rendered and the pork is crispy. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the lardons to a large plate, leaving the fat in the pot.
Add the olive oil to the rendered bacon fat. Sauté the peeled pearl onions and quartered mushrooms until beautifully golden brown. Remove with the slotted spoon and set aside on the plate with the lardons.
Increase the heat to medium-high. Sear the monkfish pieces in the hot fat until lightly browned on the outside but not fully cooked through. Transfer the fish to the plate with the vegetables.
Reduce the heat to medium. Stir the minced garlic and tomato paste into the pot, cooking for one minute to remove the raw tomato flavor. Pour in the dry red wine to deglaze the pot, scraping up any dark browned bits from the bottom with a wooden spoon.
Allow the red wine to bubble and reduce by half. Add the fish stock and the bouquet garni, bringing the liquid to a steady, gentle simmer.
In a small mixing bowl, vigorously mash together the softened butter and all-purpose flour to create a smooth, unified paste known as a beurre manie.
Using a whisk, vigorously blend the butter and flour mixture into the simmering sauce. Stir continuously until the sauce thickens and takes on a glossy sheen.
Return the resting lardons, mushrooms, pearl onions, and seared monkfish to the pot. Stir very gently to coat all the ingredients evenly in the thick red wine sauce.
Simmer the stew gently over low heat until the monkfish reaches an internal temperature of 63°C/145°F and the flesh turns fully opaque and firm.
Remove the Dutch oven from the heat. Discard the bouquet garni, sprinkle the top generously with freshly chopped parsley, and serve immediately hot from the pot.
Chef's Notes
- Monkfish possesses a tough, practically invisible membrane situated just under the skin. Always ask your fishmonger to remove it entirely, or carefully trim it away yourself to prevent the fish pieces from dramatically shrinking and becoming tough during the sear.
- To peel pearl onions effortlessly, drop them whole into boiling water for exactly 60 seconds, then immediately plunge them into an ice water bath. Once cooled, snip the root ends off and squeeze gently; the onions will slip right out of their skins.
- Treat cooking wine with respect. Always select a dry red wine with bright acidity and moderate tannins, such as a French Pinot Noir, Gamay, or a dry Merlot. A wine you wouldn't enjoy drinking will only concentrate its flaws when reduced in a sauce.
- Using a beurre manie is the traditional French method for thickening stews at the end of cooking. Pre-mashing the fat and starch together coats the flour particles in butter, completely preventing the flour from clumping when introduced to the hot wine sauce.
Storage
Refrigerator: 2 days — Store in an airtight container. Seafood degrades quickly in quality even when cooked.
Reheating: Warm very gently in a saucepan over low heat until just heated through to prevent overcooking the fish.
Troubleshooting
The monkfish is incredibly tough and rubbery to chew
Cause: The delicate fish was boiled vigorously instead of simmered gently, or the invisible outer skin membrane was not fully removed before cooking
Fix: Cannot be fixed
Prevention: Thoroughly trim all silver skin and clear membranes from the monkfish tail during prep, and ensure the final cooking stage is held at a barely visible simmer
The sauce tastes overly sharp or sour
Cause: The wine used was too highly acidic or the alcohol was not properly reduced before adding the fish stock
Fix: Stir in an extra tablespoon of cold unsalted butter or a tiny pinch of sugar off the heat to mellow the acidity
Prevention: Allow the wine to fully reduce by half to concentrate flavors and cook off harsh alcohol notes
Cultural Context
Traditionally known as Lotte en Meurette, this preparation originates from the Burgundy region of France where red wine sauces are a deep-rooted culinary staple. By swapping the traditional slow-braised beef for monkfish, a species historically dubbed the poor mans lobster due to its uniquely firm, meaty texture, the dish elegantly bridges the rich, earthy flavors of the French terroir with the sea.
