Monk Fish with a Lemon Butter Sauce

 Preparation time a little more than 1 hour

Preparation You'll need: Large pan with high rim
Ingredients (for two persons) Monkfish: 450 g (as fillet) to 600 g (with bone) 50 g butter 3 Tbsp good olive oil 3 shallots, small to medium 200 mL fish stock 200 mL white wine, dry approx. 1.5 lemons for 100 mL juice 1 Tbsp. honey 100 g fennel bulb 2-3 generous pinches of saffron Cayenne pepper Salt and pepper Side dish: 300 to 400 g boiled potatoes
The Sauce Check that there is white wine in the fridge! Peel 3 shallots and chop finely. Heat 3 tbsp olive oil in a large frying pan over a good medium heat and melt 50 g butter in it. Then glaze the shallots. Deglaze with 200 mL each of white wine and fish stock. Add 100 mL lemon juice and 1 tbsp honey, stir and simmer for 10 minutes. . In the meantime, cut 100 g of the fennel bulb into not too small pieces and add to the stock after 10 minutes. After a further 5 to 10 minutes, start with the fish, more on that in a moment. Now let the stock simmer (without a lid ;-) until the sauce starts to thicken, which can take half an hour in total. As soon as the sauce starts to thicken, season well with salt, pepper and cayenne pepper and put to one side until the fish is ready.
The Fish Wash the fish and pat dry. Divide into 4 equal pieces. Heat a small amount of oil well in a second pan and then sear the fish in it until the surface is lightly to medium brown. Since the fish releases a lot of water, you should take the fish out briefly after 2 or 3 minutes, pour away the liquid, add a small amount of oil again and continue frying the fish. When the fish has the right colour, add a little salt, and if the sauce is not yet thick, set the fish aside for a short time. As soon as the sauce has about the desired consistency, add 2-3 generous pinches of saffron and stir well. Now add the fish pieces and simmer gently for another 5 minutes with the lid on.