Monkfish Medallions with Red Bell Pepper Coulis
Creamy monkfish medallions, steamed, then seared with spices, are lined up down the center of plates sauced with yellow and red pepper coulis. Chef Vergé garnishes the plates with olive and basil purees, basil leaves, and cherry tomatoes.
Ingredients
- Yellow Bell Pepper Coulis
- Yellow Bell Pepper - 2 pounds, seeded and deribbed
- Onions - 2 medium, peeled and sliced
- Olive Oil - 1 tablespoon
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Pinch of sugar
- Cream - 1-1/4 cups
- Unsalted Butter - 4 tablespoons
- Red Bell Pepper Coulis
- Red Bell Peppers - 2 pounds, seeded and deribbed
- Onions - 2 medium, peeled and sliced
- Olive Oil - 1 tablespoon
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Pinch of sugar
- Cream - 1-1/4 cups
- Unsalted Butter - 4 tablespoons
- Paprika - 1 tablespoon
- Garlic powder - 1 tablespoon
- Monkfish Fillet - 4 (alt. other firm white fish)
- Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
- Garnish
- Nicoise Olives - 1 pound, ground to a coarse puree
- Basil - 2 bunches, ground to a coarse puree with 1/2 cup olive oil
- Fleur de sel (salt)
- Ffinely ground fresh black pepper
- Cherry Tomatoes - 6
- Basil - 6 sprigs
Instructions
To make the coulis: Make each coulis separately so as not to mix the colors. For each, slice the peppers. Combine the peppers and onions in a saucepan. Add the olive oil, salt, pepper, and pinch of sugar. Cook over low heat until they soften, 10 to 15 minutes (this is called “sweating” the vegetables). Whisk in the cream and increase the heat to medium; cook 10 to 12 minutes. Puree in a blender. Stir in the butter, then press each coulis through a fine-meshed sieve. Put the yellow and red coulis in separate squeeze bottles and set aside.
To prepare the fish: Combine the paprika and garlic powder and set aside. Roll the fillets in salt and pepper and wrap in parchment paper. Place in a steamer over simmering water and steam for 5 minutes. Unwrap and pat dry. Roll the pieces of fish in the spice mixture. Heat a non-stick sauté pan or skillet over high heat and sear the fish on both sides. Remove from the heat.
To serve: On oval serving plates, squeeze red coulis over one side of the plate, yellow over the other, dividing the plates in half lengthwise. Slice the fish into 1-inch medallions, and place a row of overlapping fish medallions down the center of each sauced plate. Put the olive puree in a pastry bag fitted with a medium plain tip and pipe a ribbon of olive puree around the yellow coulis. Put the basil puree in a squeeze bottle and pipe a ribbon of basil puree around the red coulis. Sprinkle the fish with fleur de sel and pepper. Garnish one end of each fish row with a cherry tomatoes and basil leaves; place a single basil leaf at the other end of the row.
