Roast Monkfish Tail on the Bone with Saffron Bouillabaisse Sauce & Rouille Toasts

⏱ 110 min · Serves 4

A whole monkfish tail, roasted on the bone so it stays sweet and juicy, carved at the table over a deep, saffron-scented bouillabaisse sauce built from roasted shellfish shells, fennel and orange. Add garlicky rouille toasts and it's the Marseille harbour on a plate — proper restaurant cooking, done in one afternoon.

Per serving: 712 kcal · 56.0g protein · 38.0g carbs · 38.0g fat

Ingredients

• 1 monkfish tail on the bone, about 1.2–1.4kg, membrane fully trimmed
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 30g butter
• 2 sprigs thyme, 1 bay leaf
• Sea salt and black pepper
• For the bouillabaisse sauce:
• 400g raw prawn shells and heads (or 400g crab/langoustine shells)
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 fennel bulb, chopped (fronds reserved)
• 2 celery sticks, chopped
• 1 leek, chopped
• 6 garlic cloves, crushed
• 2 tbsp tomato purée
• 400g tin chopped tomatoes
• 150ml dry white wine (or Noilly Prat)
• 1.2 litres fish stock
• Pared zest of 1 orange
• 1 large pinch saffron (about 0.4g)
• 1 star anise
• 1 tsp fennel seeds
• Pinch cayenne
• 1 tsp Pernod (optional)
• For the rouille and toasts:
• 1 egg yolk
• 1 tsp Dijon mustard
• 1 garlic clove, crushed to a paste
• Pinch saffron soaked in 1 tbsp warm water
• 150ml light olive oil
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• ½ tsp smoked paprika
• 1 thin baguette, sliced and toasted
• 40g Gruyère, finely grated
• To serve:
• 400g new potatoes, boiled
• Chopped flat-leaf parsley

Method

1. Make the sauce base: heat 3 tbsp olive oil in a large heavy pan and fry the prawn shells over high heat for 5–6 minutes until deeply pink and smelling roasted, crushing them with the end of a rolling pin as they cook.
2. Add the onion, fennel, celery, leek and garlic. Cook 8–10 minutes until softened and lightly caught. Stir in the tomato purée and cook 2 minutes.
3. Add the wine and bubble hard for 2 minutes, then the tomatoes, stock, orange zest, saffron, star anise, fennel seeds and cayenne. Simmer gently, uncovered, for 40 minutes.
4. Blitz the whole lot briefly with a stick blender (shells and all — this releases the flavour), then press through a fine sieve into a clean pan, pushing hard on the solids. Reduce to about 600ml, season, and finish with the Pernod. Keep warm.
5. Make the rouille: whisk the egg yolk, mustard, garlic and saffron water together, then trickle in the oil, whisking constantly, to a thick mayonnaise. Season with lemon, paprika and salt. Chill.
6. Heat the oven to 200°C fan. Season the monkfish tail generously all over. Heat 2 tbsp olive oil in a large ovenproof pan and colour the tail on all sides, 4–5 minutes, until golden.
7. Add the butter, thyme and bay, baste well, then roast for 20–25 minutes, basting twice, until the flesh at the thickest point reaches 52–54°C. Rest, loosely covered, for 8 minutes.
8. Meanwhile, grill the baguette slices, spread with rouille and scatter with Gruyère; flash under the grill until melted.
9. Carve the monkfish: run a knife down each side of the central bone to lift off two clean loins, then slice into thick medallions.
10. Ladle the hot bouillabaisse sauce into warm shallow bowls, add the new potatoes and monkfish, scatter with parsley and fennel fronds, and serve with the rouille toasts and extra rouille on the side.