Monkfish with clams, saffron potatoes & samphire

Here's a quick recipe i cooked for an al fresco lunch on a recent sunny day, for once not Southeast Asian themed....


Monkfish with clams, saffron potatoes & samphire

You could use all sorts of fish and shellfish here in place of the monkfish-clam combo. Only tip is don't be too heavy-handed on the seasoning because the samphire and clams are both salty already.

Ingredients (serves 2):

• 300g of monkfish fillet
• 2 small handfuls of clams
  
• 2 plum tomatoes
• 1 clove of garlic
  
• a handful of samphire, washed
  
• 1 large waxy (e.g 'cyprus') potato
• some chicken stock & a glass of white wine (both optional)
• pinch of good quality saffron strands
• EV olive oil
  
• sea salt & black pepper
• small handful flat leaf parsley
• some fresh chervil (optional)
  

Method:

• First peel your potato and dice it into cubes about 1 - 1.5cm square, put them into a small pan with enough chicken stock (or water) to cover, add a good pinch of salt and a nice few saffron strands. Simmer until just cooked (about 6 - 8 mins i guess), then drain and set aside, keep the saffron cooking liquid too.
  
• Meanwhile wash the clams, cut the monkfish into slices about an 3cm thick.
• Peel the tomatoes, de-seed and then dice them about the same size as the potato. Chop your garlic and parsley fairly fine (but keep them seperate).
  
• Put a wide frying pan (which you have a lid for) on a medium high heat, add some olive oil, throw in the garlic, now season your monkfish slices with salt & pepper and lay them in the pan to fry.
• After about a minute or two the fish should have starter to colour, so flip the pieces over, turn up the heat nice and high and add in your clams followed by your glass of white wine and a bit of the saffron potato water (just use more of the latter if you got no wine handy) and clamp down the lid.
• Leave covered for about 2 mins, then lift off the lid and throw in your samphire and tomatoes, cover again for one more minute - by which time everything should be nicely cooked & the clams all open (throw away any that aren't).
• To finish stir through the chopped parsley, drizzle with olive oil and garnish with chervil sprigs (if using).

Some more wine (to drink) and bread (to mop up the sauce) is ideal here.

Hope you like it.