Grilled monkfish cheeks with pasta aglio e olio, rocket and grilled lemon, – fresh, easy and delicious.
Fish on the barbecue is a real treat, and we ought to grill fish far more often than we probably do.
These grilled monkfish cheeks taste wonderful alongside the Italian classic, – spaghetti aglio e olio. Here I have chosen to make the dish with pappardelle and to add a generous amount of rocket and grated Parmesan, – which brings lovely flavour and, not least, a splash of colour from the rocket.
Use whichever pasta you prefer, – penne works very well too, as it gives the garlic oil plenty of surface to cling to.
Grilled monkfish cheeks take very little time to make, – they only need a few minutes on the barbecue. Finish the whole dish with the juice of the grilled lemon, – it goes perfectly with both the fish and the pasta.
If you like your food with a little heat, a sprinkle of chilli flakes in the pasta is warmly recommended.
Grilled monkfish cheeks with garlic pasta
Ingredients
Grilled monkfish cheeks
- 8-12 monkfish cheeks
- 2 lemons, halved
- Olive oil
- Salt and pepper
Pasta aglio e olio with rocket
- 500 g pasta
- 100 ml good olive oil
- 5-6 cloves garlic, grated or crushed
- 1 handful parsley, finely chopped
- 2 handfuls rocket
- 50 g Parmesan, finely grated
- 100 ml pasta cooking water
- Salt and pepper
- Chilli flakes (optional)
To serve
- Grated Parmesan, for the top
- Finely chopped parsley
Method
Grilled monkfish cheeks
- Clean the cheeks and remove the membranes. *You can easily pull the membranes off the cheeks by hand. If you buy frozen monkfish cheeks, it is easiest to do this when the cheeks are half thawed, – then they come away easily.*Remember to remove the white sinew too, – it pulls out of the monkfish cheeks easily.
- Toss the monkfish cheeks in oil and season them with salt and pepper.*This is a good time to start on the pasta, so it cooks while the cheeks are on the barbecue.
- Grill the monkfish cheeks over high heat, – the barbecue must be searingly hot (at least 250°C), and give them about 3 minutes on each side. Keep the lid open.Grill the lemons too, cut side down.
Pasta aglio e olio with rocket
- Bring a large pan of well-salted water to the boil and cook the pasta for one minute less than the packet says.
- Meanwhile, heat the oil in a frying pan over medium heat, add the garlic and half the parsley and let it sizzle gently in the oil while the pasta cooks.*Stir regularly and make sure it doesn’t get too hot, – the oil should only just bubble gently so the garlic turns pale golden and flavours the oil. At home my hob is set to 5 out of 9.
- Lift the pasta straight from the pan of water (don’t drain it) into the frying pan and toss it thoroughly with the oil.
- Add the Parmesan, the rest of the parsley and the pasta water, and let it simmer for another minute or so, – tossing constantly.
- Finally, stir in the rocket and season to taste with salt and pepper.*Add a pinch of chilli flakes too, if you like.
Grilled monkfish cheeks with garlic pasta
- Serve the pasta with 2-3 monkfish cheeks per person. Toss the monkfish cheeks through the pasta if you like, so they pick up some of the flavourful garlic oil too, – and squeeze over the grilled lemon before serving.
- Top with finely chopped parsley and a little Parmesan, if you like.
Nutrition
Premium
Kære Dianna
Tusind tak for den dejlige opskrift, den har vi haft meget glæde af.
Venlig hilsen
Søren
Hej Søren
Hvor er det dejligt at høre – tusind tak fordi du skriver det:)
Warm wishes, Dianna
Dejlig enkel opskrift. Jeg tilsatte lidt artiskokker til pastaen, klippet lidt i mundrette bidder.
Hej Lars
Hvor er det dejligt du skriver det – tusind tak 🙂
Og god ide, det lyder virkelig lækkert.
Warm wishes, Dianna
Super god!
Hej Ann-Birgit
Tusind tak for de søde ord:)
Warm wishes, Dianna
Er der mon et godt alternativ til ruccolasalaten? Den er desværre bandlyst herhjemme.
Hej Anders
Det kan du tro der er 🙂
I stedet for rucola ille jeg vælge at bruge frisk spinat 🙂
Du kan også, derudover, tilsættes en håndfuld friske basilikumblade – det gør sig også super med de andre smage 🙂
Dbh Dianna