Monkfish is a white fish, very rich in essential proteins. It is possible to find it in countless recipes, from meatballs to caldeirada, but one of the most traditional ways to prepare monkfish is baked. Baked monkfish is easy to make and the flavor will delight your guests.

Monkfish with Potatoes

Ingredients

• A good sized monkfish (you can buy it in pieces)
• Four potatoes
• One onion
• Four cloves of garlic
• Vinegar
• Parsley
• Extra virgin olive oil
• Salt and ground black pepper
• Water.

Preparation

• In a saucepan with water and a pinch of salt, cook the fish head with a few sprigs of parsley until you obtain a fish stock.
• While the broth is being prepared, peel the potatoes and cut them into slices. Remember that it is better that these slices are not too thick.
• Peel and cut the onion into julienne strips.
• Fry everything in a frying pan with a little oil until the potatoes and onion are golden brown.
• Preheat the oven to 220 degrees.
• Place the potatoes and onion in an oven tray and pour in a little of the fish stock. 
• Season the fish on both sides with salt and pepper and place it on the baking tray.
• Drizzle a little oil over the fish.
• Bake for 20 minutes.
• Serve the monkfish, accompanied by the potatoes, onion, and a splash of vinegar.

You can prepare this recipe substituting the homemade fish stock for supermarket stock and, instead of vinegar, use a lemon to give the final touch to the stew. It is also advisable to garnish with some fresh parsley.

Monkfish with Spicy Chili Pepper

Ingredients

• Monkfish fillets
• Four cloves of garlic
• Hot chili pepper
• Fish broth
• Parsley
• Extra virgin olive oil
• White wine
• Lemon
• Salt and ground black pepper

Preparation

• Preheat the oven to 220 degrees.
• Place the monkfish fillets on a tray and sprinkle them with a little lemon juice. You can also place slices of lemon on top of the fillets. Cook for 15-20 minutes.
• While the monkfish is cooking, peel and slice the garlic cloves.
• Place a drizzle of oil in a frying pan and fry the garlic until golden brown.
• Add a few slices of chili pepper and sauté with the garlic.
• Remove from heat.
• Add some fish stock to the pan along with the chopped parsley, season with salt and pepper and return to the heat.
• Add a splash of white wine, until the alcohol evaporates.
• Remove the monkfish from the oven and serve, sprinkling with the refried sauce. You can garnish with chopped parsley or parsley sprigs. 

How to Clean Monkfish

You can ask the fishmonger to clean the monkfish and give you the parts you want. For baked monkfish recipes it is advisable to clean, separate and set aside the trunk, as well as the head, because you can use them to prepare homemade fish stock. You can also ask for the skin covering this fish to be removed; the skin can be used in other recipes.

If you do not have this service at the fishmonger's, you can clean the monkfish yourself. The first thing to do is to remove the skin with the help of a very sharp knife and starting with the belly area; to do this you should place the monkfish on its back and remove the skin from the sides. 

Once you have removed the skin, it is time to continue with the dorsal fin which, if cut vertically, is easy to remove. Cut off the tail and remove the loins of the monkfish. In order to remove the loins, you should be guided by the central bone of the fish and make a vertical cut. It is important to note that this fish does not have many bones, but the bones that it has can facilitate the cleaning of the fish. 

Benefits of Monkfish

Monkfish, like all fish, is very rich in proteins that are essential for the body, but it also has the benefit of not having bones but bones. The absence of bones makes monkfish one of the easiest fish to serve to children, as well as its delicious taste. On the other hand, you can economize by using the whole monkfish and using its head and tail to prepare fish stock; this stock can be frozen and used in the future, whenever you want to prepare fish. 

In terms of nutritional information, monkfish is considered a white fish with lean meat and low calorie content; it has only 70 to 80 calories per hundred grams; it also has less than two grams of fat. It is rich in iron, phosphorus, potassium and magnesium, as well as water-soluble vitamins such as B9. 

Preparing monkfish in the oven makes recipes healthier and lower in calories, and if accompanied with potatoes, you will be providing more protein to the body. Due to its versatility, monkfish can also be served with salad or rice as a garnish.