Yield: 2 servings
Prep time: 30 minutes
Cook time: 30 minutes
Ease of preparation: medium

Recipe courtesy Chef Jean Pierre Vandelle, El Olivo, Spain

Ingredients:

2 (14-ounce) smoked monkfish fillets
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1 bay leaf, for garnish
Olive oil, for drizzling

Tomato Compote:

1/2 cup olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
3 scallions, finely chopped
1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes
3 cloves garlic
1 bunch fresh thyme leaves
Sugar, to taste

Black Olive Sauce:

1 onion, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 small shallot bulbs, finely chopped
1/2 pound black olives, finely chopped
4-5 stems fresh thyme with flowers
1 cup virgin olive oil
1/2 cup sherry wine
Salt

Instructions:

1. Season smoked monkfish with salt and freshly ground pepper.
   
2. To make the Tomato Compote, heat olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and scallions and sweat for several minutes until onion is translucent, stirring occasionally so the scallions don't burn.
   
3. Meanwhile, blanch tomatoes in a pot of boiling salted water for 15-20 seconds, just long enough so that you will be able to peel the skin. Drain tomatoes and peel their skins.
   
4. Mince garlic and thyme together. Add chopped tomatoes, garlic, and thyme to the saucepan.
   
5. Stir to combine, adjust heat to a simmer and let reduce until thick. Add a pinch of sugar, to taste.
   
6. To make the Black Olive Sauce, in a medium bowl, combine chopped onion, garlic, shallot and black olives.
   
7. Over the bowl, rub the flowers of thyme together with your hands to sprinkle the thyme dust into the bowl.
   
8. Add olive oil and sherry wine and stir to combine.
   
9. Transfer the mixture to a small saucepan and cook over medium heat until sauce has developed a smooth consistency.
10. Add a pinch of salt, to taste.

To plate, place 1 cup Tomato Compote in the center, add the 2 smoked monkfish fillets and pour the Black Olive Sauce around the plate. Garnish with a bay leaf and drizzled with olive oil, if desired.

This recipe was provided by professional chefs and has been scaled down from a bulk recipe provided by a restaurant. Fine Living has not tested this recipe in the proportions indicated and therefore cannot make any representation as to the results.