Lemon Pepper Monkfish

This dish was actually an appetizer but you could certainly embellish and add to it to make it into a full-fledged meal. I found the Monkfish at Pete's for a decent price and since I was already serving lamb I thought I would transform dinner into a multi-course little event to celebrate the safe return of Girly and mr. and to truly make this a full-fledged meal, we had cupcakes from Susie's Cupcakes! Occasionally there will be gluten-free cupcakes in the store, but that only happens if there was a special order. If gluten-free doesn't apply to you, have at it! These are delicious!

Monkfish is a very wet fish which means that it will release a lot of milky liquid as it is cooked. Too prevent this rather annoying habit, salt that fish and let it sit for as long as an hour. I had cut mine into smaller pieces (appie size) so it was only a matter of 20 minutes to get that excess water drained. For the marinade I squeezed the juice of one lemon and added a fair amount of salt and a significant amount of pepper. To neutralize the acid of the lemon, add about a tbsp of sugar, otherwise it'll be inedible. I would say the fish marinated for about 20 minutes. All this salting and marinating took place while I was doing the prep work for other dishes. Fish marinates very quickly so if you buy it on your way home from work, stir up marinade (always include an acid to break down the fish, a sugar to quell the acid) and let it sit while you prep/hug your kids/put on comfy clothes. Fish takes only minutes to cook. That's why it is perfect for spring and summer nights; you can get outside after a delicious meal and spend time with the little monsters you love.*

Lightly dust with a bit of rice flour and sear for 2-3 minutes on each side. Monkfish is notoriously overcooked which turns it into an unpleasant ball of rubber. To infuse more of the lemon pepper goodness into the fish I poured the marinade in the pan and let it boil down before pouring over the fish and rice vermicelli. I had left the noodles plain because the lemon juice is so bold.

*My children are wonderful and I adore them. They really do play a game called Monster.