Monkfish with Creamy Morels and Frisée
Sometimes when I go shopping I’ll buy an accessory…shoes, a purse, a piece of jewelry and I’ll end designing an entire outfit around that one item. This is essentially what I did when I made this dish. I found morel mushrooms at the farmer’s market and bought them on a whim, even though they were $30 a pound. They’re only around for a short period of time so said figured, what the hell…why not? All the other elements of this design were picked to heighten and complement the flavors of the morels.
Usually morels are served with rice, pasta, or potatoes so the morels have a blank backdrop to show their true flavor. Morels also pair perfectly with heavy cream. I substituted heavy cream for fat-free half-and-half and instead of serving this sauce with a big bowl of pasta I decided to serve it with frisée which is a very sturdy green that can stand-up to warm dressings and pungent ingredients.
Prep Time
10 min.
Cook Time
10 min.
Total Time
20 min.
Ingredients
4 oz monkfish
¼ cup onions, minced
4 oz fresh morel mushrooms*
2 tsp thyme, minced
¼ cup white wine
½ cup chicken broth
2 tsp vegetable oil
3 tbsp fat-free half-and-half
1 tsp butter
1 scallion, sliced, green only
2 cups frisée**
1 lemon wedge
salt and pepper, to taste
*If you can’t*If you can’t find morels, you can subtitute any mushrooms you like…cremini, shiitake, chanterelles (would be awesome), oyster, etc.**If you can’t find frisée use, any sturdy green you like or you can serve this sauce with any mild starch.Cooking instructions
Season the monkfish with salt and pepper and set aside.
Heat a large sauté pan over medium heat and spray with non-stick cooking spray.
Add your onions and thyme and sauté for 2-3 minutes until lightly softened.
Add the morels and sauté for 7-8 minutes or until the mushrooms are soft and cooked through.
Turn the heat down to low, and add the white wine.
Simmer for 1-2 minutes or until alcohol flavor has cooked off.
Then add your chicken broth and let that reduce by half.
While the sauce is cooking, heat a small sauté pan over medium-high heat and add your vegetable oil.
Add the monkfish and cook on all sides until cooked through, about 6-7 minutes total.
Set aside and keep warm while you finish your sauce.
Add the half-and-half to your sauce and allow to simmer for 2-3 minutes or until slightly thickened.
Turn off the heat and add the butter and swirl the pan to incorporate the butter into the sauce.
Add your scallions.
Season with salt and pepper to taste.
To assemble, lay your frisée on the bottoms of a large plate.
Slice your monkfish and lay the slices over the frisée.
Top with your creamy morels sauce and give everything a good squeeze of lemon.
Dig in and use the frisée to mop up every drop of creamy goodness!
