Summer recipe: Norma chef Giovann Attard on perfect monkfish tails
I love fresh seafood – anything grilled or barbecued but especially monkfish. I grew up on a farm and my dad is a farmer, so we always harvested our own produce, which ignited my love of cooking with fresh ingredients.
My inspiration has to be the women in my family, particularly my aunt who is an amazing chef, along with my mother and grandmother. In Maltese culture, cooking is a group activity that brings everyone together, which I love – here’s how you can do it at home.
Grilled prawns (serves 2)
• 8 Red Prawns, cleaned
• 1 red chilli, deseeded and chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, sliced
• 4 sprigs of parsley chopped
• 150ml extra virgin olive oil and extra olive oil for cooking
• 1 lemon
Method
• Turn on your BBQ and or a griddle pan; heat the oven to 180 degrees
• Mix the garlic, chilli, chopped parsley and olive oil
• Season the dressing with salt
• Drizzle with olive oil and season
• Grill the prawns for 1 min on each side or until charred
• Place the prawns on a tray and cover with the garlic and chilli
• Place in the oven for 4 mins
• Served with a charred, grilled lemon
Monkfish tails (serves 2)
• 2 monkfish tails, skinned and trimmed
For the sauce:
• 50g caper berries
• 4 garlic cloves, sliced
• 50g black olives, pitted
• 250g fresh tomato sauce For the garnish:
• 2 sprigs of parsley
• Extra virgin olive oil
Method
• Turn on your grill pan or your BBQ until it’s nice and hot
• Make a lengthwise slit with a sharp knife in each monkfish fillet, drizzle with olive oil and season
For the sauce:
• Over a medium heat in a saucepan, drizzle some olive oil and sauté the sliced garlic, caper berries and black olives, cook for a few minutes and then add the fresh tomato sauce, then simmer for around 20 mins
• Salt to taste and set aside
• Place the monkfish on the hot BBQ or griddle pan and cook for 6 mins on each side – this should give a nice colour on the fish and a moist texture £ Serve the fish with the caper and olive sauce and garnish with parsley leaves and extra virgin olive oil