Monkfish Breton style

Ingredients for 4 servings:

• 1 monkfish tail of about 800g
• 3 tbsp flour
• 100 g butter
• 300 g tomato(s), peeled and pitted
• 2 cl Calvados, Lambic (this is the Breton variant of Norman Calvados)
• 500 ml white wine (white wine from the Loire, drunk in Brittany with almost everything that comes from the sea.)
• 2 onions
• 1 herb bouquet of parsley, thyme and bay leaf
• Cayenne pepper
• Salt and pepper, freshly ground
• Garlic, 1-2 cloves, to taste

Instructions

Working time approx. 45 minutes; Total time approx. 45 minutes

Lotte à l’Armoricaine

Carefully skin the monkfish tail, cut into thick slices, and coat in flour. (If you prefer, you can also remove the central bone from the fillets before frying.) Melt half the butter in a wide saucepan, fry the fish pieces with the finely chopped onion until golden brown. Flambé with the schnapps and deglaze with the Muscadet. Add the tomatoes, garlic, and herb sprigs, season with salt, pepper, and cayenne pepper, and cover and simmer over low heat for about 30 minutes. Remove the fish pieces, strain the sauce through a sieve, season again to taste, top with knobs of butter, and serve with rice or potatoes. The sauce should have a distinct cayenne note without being overly spicy. Note: Breton is a Celtic language, and in Breizon, Armor means the land of the water (Argoat, on the other hand, is the land of the forests). Since it is a Breton dish, the correct name is “armoricaine” and not, as is unfortunately often used, “americaine”.