You have probably seen that the five part Wood Fired Oven Masterclass series with David Jones from the Manna from Devon cooking school in the United Kingdom has begun on my Wood Fired Oven podcast .
David, and his wife Holly love to cook seafood in their wood fired ovens, and have graciously allowed me to share the following receipe with you from their beautiful ' Wood Fired Fish & Seafood ' book. You can grab your own copy of their book on ebay.
I cooked this dish a few days ago for my wife's birthday. Absolutely gorgeous. Please reach out on Instagram, or in the Wood Fired Oven Chronicles facebook group if you give this recipe a go.
This recipe and images are used with permission from Holly and David Jones. (c) 2018. Manna from Devon.
Monkfish wrapped in Parma Ham with Fresh Basil
This is a favourite dish with our students on our fish courses - they like the ease of preparation, the fact that you can get everything done in advance, the fab flavours and the wow factor.
Ask your fishmonger to take the skin off the monkfish, take the loins off the central bone and also take the membrane off the flesh. If you can't get hold of monkfish, try a fillet of seabass or sea bream. We're using Parma ham in the recipe but have successfully used serrano ham and pancetta, anything that's really thin.
Serves 6
- 8 pieces of Parma ham, very thinly sliced
- Good handful of fresh basil leaves
- 2 monkfish loins, each about 200g/7oz in weight
- 4tbsp olive oil
- 2 red peppers
- Salt and pepper
Oven temperature - 2 Mississippi. Between 275°C/520°F and 300°C/570°F
Door - Off
Method
- Lay 4 pieces of the Parma ham out on a board or work surface so they are closely overlapping and do the same with the over pieces.
- Put half the basil leaves on one set of ham slices and the rest on the other set.
- Lay the monkfish loins at the end of each set of ham slices and roll the monkfish up in the ham tightly, finishing with the seam at the bottom.
- Put the rolls in a small ovenproof frying pan. Drizzle over 1tbsp of the oil and season with salt and pepper.
- Cut the peppers in half from the top to the bottom and take out the seeds. Cut the halves into thin slices, toss in the rest of the oil with a good pinch of seasoning and put them in an ovenproof pan.
- Put the pans in the oven and roast the fish close to the flames and the peppers further away from the heat source so they cook more slowly and soften without colouring. The monkfish is ready when it's become firm and a bright white in colour and the ham has become crispy.
- Serve the monkfish rolls on a bed of the softened peppers.
