Great for a starter or a moreish snack with drinks. If using as a snack, you may wish to cut the cheeks smaller.
Makes: 8 (as a starter)
24 Monkfish cheeks
Beer Batter
Katsu Sauce
Coriander Cress or chopped fresh coriander
¼ bunch Flat Parsley
50g Plain Flour
Katsu Curry Sauce
Vegetable Oil
1 onion, peeled & chopped
1 cm root ginger, chopped
1 bramley apple, peeled & chopped
2 cloves garlic, peeled
3 whole carrots, peeled and chopped
2 tbsp plain flour
2 tbsp medium curry powder
1.5 litre hot chicken stock
1 tsp honey
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 bay leaf
5 tsp garam masala
½ tsp cumin seeds
½ tsp fennel seeds
In a medium-sized pan fry off the onion, ginger, apple, garlic and carrots until caramelised and golden brown.
Add all of the spices and the plain flour and cook out until a thick paste
Pour in the hot chicken stock and cookout for 20 mins until the carrots are cooked through.
Remove from the heat and season with the honey and soy sauce
Allow to cool down and then blitz in a food processor and pass through a sieve
Spiced Beer Batter
125g Plain Flour
Pinch of turmeric
8g Yeast
2g Salt
200ml Beer
Sparkling Water
Combine flour, turmeric, yeast and salt in a medium bowl add beer until forms a paste loosen to desired consistency with the sparkling water
To Create The Dish
Vegetable oil for shallow frying
Pre Heat the vegetable oil in a high sided pan to 170oC.
Pick the flat parsley and pat dry . Fry in the oil until crispy and then remove onto kitchen towel to remove any excess oil.
Trim the monkfish cheeks of any sinew and pat dry, roll them in the plain flour and shake off any excess.
Dip them into the beer batter and fry for 3-4 mins in the vegetable oil
Warm through the katsu sauce
Place the monkfish cheeks onto a plate and serve with the katsu sauce & coriander cress
Matt Budden
Executive Chef at Schpoons & Forx
Matt Budden started his career training in several Michelin starred country house hotels and used this experience to further his culinary knowledge whilst travelling around the globe. Matt’s culinary repertoire flourished whilst working first class kitchens in Australia, New Zealand and Vietnam before heading back to Europe.
He has headed up many prestigious kitchen brigades achieving 2AA rosettes and being Michelin recommended for the last 10 years.
In 2015, Matt took over the kitchen at Schpoons & Forx, a vibrant restaurant set within the Hilton Bournemouth. Matt specialises in serving modern British cuisine with an emphasis on local seafood, serving the best of British produce in a relaxed stunning location.
Instagram: @chefmattbudden
