Have You Tried This Twist on a Classic? Monkfish Wrapped in Parma Ham, Wild Garlic Pesto, and Cherry Tomatoes!

When you think about seafood, monkfish might not be on your radar, but it definitely should be! This fish, known for its firm texture and mild taste, it's a little like cod, but Monkfish is often called “poor man’s lobster” due to its firm, meaty texture, making it an ideal base for flavourful dishes. In this dish we are elevating the flavour of monkfish with savoury Parma ham, vibrant wild garlic pesto, and sweet roasted cherry tomatoes.

I've been making this Monkfish Wrapped in Parma Ham dish for more years than I care to recall ... I came across this recipe in my early 20's when I began to catch the bug for cooking. I remember being in my first tiny cottage kitchen, opening a jar of tomato pesto thinking I was being très, très elegant and sophisticated ... And I still love this dish now and with good reason ... It's a simple to prepare, tasty, classic, light lunch or supper, perfect as the weather starts to warm up ... Although these days I prefer to ditch the jarred pesto and make my own, changing the pesto ingredients through the spring and summer as different seasonal produce becomes available.

I like to serve the monkfish parcels simply, on a bed of linguine or roasted new potatoes, with big spoonful's of the pan juices drizzled over the top. As you cut into the parcels and roasted cherry tomatoes, every thing will mingle with the pan juices to create it's own sauce.

Monkfish Wrapped in Parma Ham with Wild Garlic Pesto, and Cherry Tomatoes - The Recipe

Ingredients

150g Wild Garlic Leaves

50g Parmesan, grated

1 Garlic clove, finely chopped

1/2 lemon (zest and a good squeeze of the juice)

50g Walnuts, toasted

8 Slices of Parma ham

4 x 125g to 150g monkfish fillets

300g cherry tomatoes on the vine

Method

Start by making the pesto. Rinse and roughly chop the wild garlic leaves. Blitz the wild garlic leaves, parmesan, garlic, lemon zest and walnuts to a rough paste in a food processor. Season, and with the motor running slowly, add almost all the oil. Taste, season and add a few squeezes of lemon juice. Transfer the pesto to a clean jar and top with the remaining oil. Will keep in the fridge for two weeks.

Preheat the oven to 200°C/fan180°C/gas 6.

Slightly overlap 2 slices of Parma ham lengthways. Spread some of the pesto down the middle. Top with a fish fillet and wrap the ham around to enclose it. Repeat with the remaining ham and fish.

Place the tomatoes on a large baking tray, drizzle with the oil and bake for 5 minutes. Add the fish parcels to the tray and roast for 15 minutes, until cooked through.

Divide the tomatoes, onions and monkfish between plates. Drizzle with any juices from the baking tray.