Recipe: Monkfish with Red Onion and Garlic Scapes

One has to wonder about the first human who looked at a monkfish and thought, "Hey, could be tasty!"  Thank heavens the CSF delivers fillets and not whole fish; I can deal with the fillets.

The texture is almost scallop-like and it's easy to overcook and toughen, so a quick high-heat sear is the preferred method of cooking, and then you have the makings for some sort of yummy pan sauce.  Garlic scapes and fresh dill from this week's CSA went into the mix, with some pearl couscous on the side to soak up the juices.  

Monkfish with Red Onion and Garlic Scapes

2 lbs monkfish fillets, cut into 1" sections

Juice of one lemon

2-3 tablespoons olive oil

½ teaspoon salt

10 garlic scapes, trimmed and cut in 1” sections

1 small red onion, sliced

6 tablespoons butter

Fresh snipped dill, for garnish

Combine the lemon juice with an equal amount of olive oil and the salt; stir to dissolve the salt.

Heat a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat.  Working in batches, dip the monkfish pieces in the lemon juice mixture, then sear until barely done, turning just once (about two minutes per side).  Remove to a platter and keep warm. 

Deglaze the pan with the remaining lemon juice mixture and any accumulated juices from the resting fish, scraping up the brown bits, then add the butter.  When the butter is hot, sauté the garlic scapes until crisp-tender, then add the red onion and continue cooking until the scapes and onion are tender.  Correct seasonings.

To serve, place the fish on a bed of scapes and onion, then drizzle the pan juices over and garnish with fresh dill.

Serves 4.