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Monkfish a l’Armoricaine
January 23, 2013 | Recipes, The Kitchen | 27 Comments »
Meet Mamie Annie, Guillaume’s mother from France. “Mamie” means grandma in French so “Mamie Annie” is what our kids call her.
In true French tradition, Annie is a wonderful cook, so over the coming weeks I’ll try to document some of her dishes for you because they are in one word – delicious!
On Sunday we visited the Auckland Fish Markets where Annie chose some fresh Monkfish and prepared “Lotte à l’Amoricaine” for dinner. This dish originates from Armorica, the name given in ancient times to Brittany and its surrounds. The name means “small sea” in Britannic language.
You should give it a go; it’s simple to cook. This is what you need:
1 kg monkfish fillets
1 kg ripe tomatoes
250ml dry white wine
1 shot glass of Cognac
2 – 3 tablespoon tomato paste
10 shallots sliced
5-10 drops of Tabasco (depending on taste)
Extra virgin olive oil
Freshly chopped parsley
Salt and pepper
Rice to serve with
Method:
Peel and de-seed the tomatoes, remove any juice, chop and put aside.
Wipe the fish with a tea towel to remove any moisture and cut into large bite size pieces, heat 2 -3 tablespoons of oil in a heavy based pan and bring pan to very high heat (to prevent fish boiling) and sear fish in batches until almost cooked, return all of the fish to pan and throw in the cognac and light it to do a “flambé”. Put the fish aside.
Meanwhile return pan to low heat and sweat the shallots then add tomatoes, Tabasco, white wine and bring to a gentle boil and then lower to a simmer and reduce for 10-15 minutes.
Season to taste, add the fish, sprinkle with chopped parsley and serve with rice.
Serves 4
Bon appetit!
Oh Mel, this blog post is bringing tears to my eyes! How I miss my homeland sometimes… Remembering my own Mamie who cooked up a storm every single day for us and who was also always wearing an apron while cooking! I hope you all have a fantastic time during Annie’s visit xx
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mel replied:
January 23rd, 2013 at 10:40 am
Thanks Audrey! It’s incredible the passion she has – as soon as we finish breakfast, she’s discussing what we’ll eat for lunch – wonderful! M x
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14 years of learning French and I never knew that Mamie was ‘Grand Mere’! Mamie Annie is so cute! I bet you’re loving having her to stay and preparing such amazing meals! This one looks divine! x
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mel replied:
January 23rd, 2013 at 2:45 pm
Ha! Yes they don’t teach you practical things like that at school! 14 years though, very impressed! Mel x
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This looks like a great family style rustic dish. Anything served on rice suddenly becomes homely to me. A perfect dish for all the great tomatoes around at the moment.
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mel replied:
January 23rd, 2013 at 6:38 pm
Hi Genie, thanks for stopping by:) Yes it’s really a delicious meal!
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ohh Mel this is beautiful..Guillame’s mother looks so lovely. Love her dress. This post has so much warmth. The photos are great with the combo of coloured & black & white. Will definitely try this when I get home. xx
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What a great recipe! I love monkfish but don’t know many ways to cook it so I’ll definitely be trying this. Thanks for sharing – and I love the French school poster you have in your kitchen, I’m featuring them in an upcoming post. N x
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mel replied:
January 23rd, 2013 at 6:24 pm
@Nic – thanks and you should definitely try it! We just got the poster framed after having it for years…
@Catherine – thanks and I’ll tell her you like the dress:))) Hope you’re having a great time!
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Je suis tellement fière de voir ma copine Annie sur ce blog du “bout du monde” ! Je témoigne de son grand art en cuisine. J’ai des souvenirs multiples et délicieux de ses prouesses culinaires. Elle cuisine le poisson de façon admirable !
Pourvu qu’elle ne décide pas de rester en Nouvelle Zélande. J’ai besoin d’elle en France, pour chanter, coudre, … et plusieurs autres choses.
Bonjour à la Nouvelle Zélande et à la famille d’Annie, from one of Mamie Annie’s friend !
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Bonjour Odette,
Nous profitons bien d’Annie et je prends l’habitude de lui laisser faire la cuisine, c’est reposant! With regret we will let her go back to France – eventually! Merci bien pour votre commentaire et peut-être a cet été a Berneuil. Mel
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Sharing recipes between generations is so nice.
Great post Mel and Annie.
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mel replied:
January 24th, 2013 at 5:04 pm
Thanks Julia. It’s so true the importance of passing recipes between generations… M x
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Dear Mel and Annie
Nul n’est prophète en son pays…sauf Annie, car tous ses amies et amis le savent bien. Les prouesses culinaires d’Annie ont franchi depuis longtemps les frontières de la Charente Libre.
Nous sommes ravis qu’elle exporte son savoir-faire et sa générosité au bout du monde pour le régal de ses enfants et petits-enfants.
Profitez tous de ces bons moments, nous pensons bien à vous.
ENJOY
Nadine et Jean-Louis
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mel replied:
January 24th, 2013 at 3:34 pm
Merci Nadine et Jean-Louis. J’espere que un jour je pourrai faire la cuisine la moitié aussi bien qu’elle. Je prends des notes! Mel
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C’est magnifique! Do les enfants like it as much as my porridge?
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mel replied:
January 24th, 2013 at 3:36 pm
Merci Pappi! Personne ne réussit le porridge comme toi!
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what a lovely post – it looks delicious! I should try it, we have so many tomatoes right now!! Hope your Mother in law is having a wonderful time!
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Wow, wow Mel-how completely wonderful. You MUST make a mini ISSUU or Instagram book or whatever they are-the food, the photos, Mamie cooking-would just make the most gorgeous story-her visit to New Zealand in food images-please do it!!! xx
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mel replied:
January 25th, 2013 at 9:30 am
@Anastasia Thank you:))) Yes she is, we’re lucky enough to have her for 6 weeks so will definitely make the most of her!
@Caroline – okay – I seriously need to work on this Instagram thing… We’re away at the moment, perhaps it’s time to give it a go!
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Merci mamie Annie, Ca me donne envie d’en cuisiner ce weekend.
tres bonne idée, simple et pas cher!
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mel replied:
January 26th, 2013 at 9:14 am
Salut Sophie! Great – I hope you make it, let me know how you go! À bientôt, j’espère:))) M x
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Ohhhh Mel… this looks yummy !!! :)
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