There’s something about cooking and eating red meat in this heat that doesn’t feel quite right. It’s too much like hard work. Fish, on the other hand, goes too far in the opposite direction. While I yield to no person in my admiration for the fruits of the sea, I tend to polish off a plate of fish, then inquire as to the whereabouts of my dinner.

Which is where monkfish comes in. I don’t know if you’ve ever seen a monkfish, but it’s not the sort of thing you forget in a hurry. God, it’s ugly. Your monkfish consists almost entirely of head, and the head consists almost entirely of mouth. It’s like the wife from hell.

In addition, and rather oddly for a fish, it has fins that behave exactly like feet, with which it walks along the sea bed, while not hiding in the sand and seaweed. And believe me, if you looked like a monkfish you’d hide in the sand and seaweed too. There’s not a lot of mirrors there.

The great thing about your monkfish, however, is its meaty tail. Like the Pakistan cricket team, the monkfish has a long tail that looks tough but goes soft when you turn up the heat. Also like the Pakistan cricket team, it’s robust enough to take a good roasting.

INGREDIENTS

Serves 4

Prep 10min
Cook 35min

4 monkfish tail fillets, 200g each
500g shelled broad beans
300g cubed pancetta or streaky bacon
300ml fish stock
250ml white wine
100g unsalted butter
Olive oil
Salt and pepper
Snipped chives

METHOD

Preheat the oven to 200C. Pour a little oil into a roasting tin and heat in the oven till the oil is shimmering. Season each piece of fish well with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Put the tin on the hob over a high heat and sear the fish all over. Cook in the oven for 30min.

Put the beans in a pan, cover with cold water, add a little salt, bring to the boil and cook for 2min. Drain, then plunge the beans into a bowl of ice-cold water with a few ice cubes in it. This stops the cooking process (well, it would, wouldn’t it?) and helps the beans to retain their colour. Drain again.

Meanwhile heat a large, non-stick pan, add the pancetta and cook over a high heat until it begins to colour and the fat runs. Add the beans, season with black pepper, toss until well mixed together and cook for 1min.

In another pan, boil the stock and wine until reduced by half, lower the heat and whisk in the butter a small chunk at a time. Season with salt and pepper.

To serve, pile the beans and pancetta on four warmed plates, slice each piece of fish on the diagonal into three pieces and place on top, drizzle the sauce over, and scatter with some snipped chives.

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