Thursday, January 08, 2004

Monkfish with Sunchokes and Mushrooms, or. . .There’s a warm spot   Just here, in front of the electric space heater.  Maybe I’m just crazy, but it is rather cold in this apartment.  Our heaters haven’t been working well all winter, and now the real January cold we’ve all been waiting for has arrived, this is a problem.  Our very nice landlady has had the plumber out twice to bleed the radiators, which helped both times, but the system just isn’t working <sigh>.  One hates to complain, what with cheap rent and all (I read this in the NYTimes today and thought “At least I didn’t pay over a million dollars for this place, heck, I just rent it!) but now I have on TWO wool sweaters, tights under my jeans, a fleece vest. . . and as long as I stay in front of the space heater I broke down and bought today, I’m warm.  Oh, except for my feet.  Which are actually warm all the time since they are in my atomically warm new slippers courtesy of the dear (and now off to France) Philippe.  I may sleep in them, especially with him gone!   This, however, is no excuse for my laziness in blogging recently.  The lack of work around the holidays ground my ambition to a precise halt, that’s it. That, and I really am trying to get some exercise these days, which is enjoyable but a huge time suck.  And I am trying to prepare for teaching wine classes, and suddenly there is work to do again. . . and, in case I didn’t mention, it’s cold, so the main urge after running around the city all day is to sleep deeply.  A litany of procrastination!   Without further ado, then, I better introduce the New Dish that has been created around here lately. . . Monkfish with Jerusalem artichokes, mushrooms, and other good things.  We had the first three ingredients in the fridge recently, and something about the combination of j.a.’s and mushrooms seemed right to me, somehow.  How right it was, that hunch!  There is a wonderfully buttery quality of flavor that Jerusalem artichokes have, when cooked, which appeals to the cold-weather longing for richness without being actually (at least as far as I know) rich.  The mushrooms give a nice earthy note, and monkfish is a very satisfactory and forgiving fish to cook (good, since I have never gotten over my fish cooking phobia).  Furthermore, it’s cheap, even cheapish at the ever-astronomical Whole Foods market near my office.  Where the quality of the fish was a bit lower than I’d want, incidentally.  I’d go so far as to say that their monkfish had been previously frozen, since it turned out a bit mushy.    Anyhow, here is the dish.  It is very easy, involves no saturated fat (this being January) and yet is flavorful to the maximum – and pairs very well with wine, too.    Monkfish with Jerusalem Artichokes and Mushrooms   (for 2 hungry people) just under a pound of Monkfish (usually comes in pieces without bones, but if you can get a chunk from further up the tail with some bone, it’s cheaper and have no worries – it has only one large, easily removable set of bones in the middle.  Cook it whole and split it after, leaving all the bones on one piece.)   6 medium-sized (about the size of a ping-pong ball) Jerusalem artichokes (sometimes called sunchokes; relatively easy to find in good groceries this time of year.) – I dunno, about ½ lb?  Use 4 if they are big (larger than ping-pong ball!)   about the same amount of cremini mushrooms   a tablespoon of capers   ½ lemon   Good olive oil, fresh or dried thyme, and salt and pepper for seasoning.   Preheat oven to 350. Cut any discolored bits off of the Jerusalem artichokes and slice them, without peeling, into medium-thick slices (not too ladylike, but not hulking, either).  Brush the mushrooms off and trim the stems if you like, but leave them whole.  Toss both in an ovenproof gratin or baking dish with plenty of olive oil to coat, then sprinkle liberally with salt, pepper, and thyme.  Put in preheated oven and roast for 20-25 minutes, stirring once or twice.   Once the Jerusalem artichokes are starting to just barely lose their crunch and the mushrooms are sizzling a bit, sprinkle the monkfish with salt, pepper and thyme.  Stir the capers into the mushroom/artichoke mixture and lay the fish on top.  Squeeze the lemon over the fish.  Pop it back into the oven and bake for another 20 minutes or so (monkfish is firm and quite forgiving) until the fish is warm through to the center (25 mins at most if you have big pieces).  And you can cut into it to check; just serve that piece to yourself ;-)   Remove, spit between two plates, and serve with a white wine that is both rich and a bit sharp.  For this reason I think Chardonnay, but from Burgundy -- a good, young Pouilly Fuisse, for example, or a Chablis from a good producer who doesn’t use oak.  But this is a flavorful dish, and any white wine that has some acidity and not too much oak will do.  Last night we drank Zind Humbrecht Pinot d’Alsace, which was rich and bright and a hair too sweet, but good enough that there were absolutely no complaints registered.    This dish was a wonderful surprise brought about by inspiration and necessity (those twin mothers of invention, and what good ingredients to have as “what’s in the fridge!”).  But it was good enough to try again (the first time we undercooked the Jerusalem artichokes).  It has richness and earthiness, brightened by the sharpness of capers and a touch of lemon.  Not a pretty dish (soon I’ll master my new digital camera and attempt photos, perhaps!) but wonderfully tasty.   A cup of tea, the thought of last night’s dinner. . . and I feel quite warm and happy now!   9:39:56 PM    comment []