Monkfish with dill, chilli potatoes and watercress

This is my twist on the Rick Stein classic dish of monkfish, potatoes and watercress. The addition of my favourite ingredients – chilli and garlic – plus the dill spices it up and adds delicious flavour. The texture and flavour of monkfish, which is also great in curries, works well with this combination, with a squeeze of lemon brightening up the whole dish at the end.

Prep time: 5 minutes Cooking Time: 35 minutes
Ingredients:

2 medium size potatoes, peeled and cubed
3 cloves garlic, finely sliced
3 whole red chillies
1/2 bunch fresh dill tough stalks removed and finely chopped
1 bunch watercress (about 4 or 5 cups when cleaned and chopped)
2 fillets of monkfish (about 500g)
Olive oil
Balsamic vinegar
1/2 lemon cut into half again
Salt and pepper

Method:

1. Pre-heat oven to 200 degrees Celsius.

2. Bring a pot of salted water to boil, add potatoes, garlic and while chillies and boil until potatoes are just cooked, about 8-10 minutes. Darin and leave to dry out.

3. Meanwhile, pat monkfish dry with paper towel, season with slat and black pepper, then pan fry for a few minutes on each side over high heat, in non-stick pan with 2 tablespoons olive oil until brown on each side.

4. Remove monkfish from pan, keeping oil in pan, then place monkfish in a casserole dish and put in oven to cook for another 10 minutes.

5. Chop chillies, removing stalk.

6. Reheat leftover oil, then add potatoes, garlic and chilli to reheat together and slightly brown potatoes, then add watercress and dill and mix through until watercress is just starting to wilt. Taste to see if any additional salt is needed.

7. Remove monkfish from oven and allow to rest for a few minutes. Remove from casserole (keep fish cooking juices in the dish) and slice into thick chunks.

8. Put the potato and watercress mixture into the casserole dish with the juices from the fish and gently mix through. Then layer the fish on top of the potatoes, garnish with extra dilll, drizzle with some balsamic vinegar, and serve with crunchy bread and lemon to squeeze.