I am at the Marylebone Farmer’s Market at the very best time of day: just before closing time. The get everything-practically-for-free time. 25+vendors are in the parking lot just off Moxon Road and are gathering their last remaining produce into crates and stacking them back onto their trucks. Most customers have left. It’s a goldmine.
The fishmongers at maldon.co.uk yell over at me: “ALL FISH NOW HALF PRICE. GET YOUR FISH HERE NOW. ALL FISH…”
I walk up to their truck which features a built-in counter now filled with lots of melting ice and very few fish. Some jellied seaweed is scattered on top. I have a little chat with one of the fishmongers named Goudgel— a North African dark-haired man with fat rosy cheeks and a boisterous disposition.
S: What’s that? Monkfish?
G: Dogfish.
S: What’s that?
G: Shark meat.
S: Really. How big’s the shark?
G: 5 to 10 K.G.’s. Like this.
S: Just a portion for myself please. How do you cook it?
G: Aaah! Salt, pepper, flour, garlic, thyme…in oven.
S: Is that how you cook it for your wife?
G: No, no wife. I’m a chef. I cook for the people. (Pause). I can cook a human.
S: Really.
Fishmonger 2 walks off in a huff.
G: (Goudgel shakes his head). He’s always like that. I roast it beautiful. I can cook different types of humans.
S: Who are the tastiest?
G: Boys. Between 14 to 16.
S: Do you have a son?
G: No.
I spot the last piece of chocolate cake from the stand “Out of the Box”. The American cake lady crams a 5-inch high slice into a container and gives it to me for £2. I stroll over to the “Garden of Rest” behind the 15th century Marylebone Church and collapse on a park bench. The encrypted plaque in front of me says that Francis Bacon—not the painter, was married here. I bask in the last few rays of rare sunshine and inhale the entire slice of my dessert as I figure out how to cook my dinner. This is what I came up with:
Fresh Huss Picatta in a Roasted Chorizo and Tomato Broth
This is a hearty dish of hunky gorgeosity. There is nothing cheap about my £2.50 piece of fish.
To begin: do you have a cazuela? If not, most of this dish can be prepared and assembled in a small oven- proof frying pan.
Coarsely chop ½ cup chorizo picante. Heat a frying pan with a tablespoon of olive oil and add the chorizo. While the chorizo is browning, finely chop a tablespoon of shallots or red onion. When the chorizo is crisp, remove it and set aside, reserving the chorizo oil.
Lower the heat, add the shallots and sweat them till soft. Deglaze the pan with a few splashes of sherry or white wine. Reduce it all a bit and add 2 cups of fresh tomatoes, quartered or a tin of peeled cherry tomatoes. Stir in tablespoon of plucked and chopped fresh oregano and a heaping teaspoon of pimenton de la Vera (Spanish smoked sweet paprika) and the chorizo. Close with a lid and let simmer gently for about 20-30 minutes, until the tomatoes have softened and reduced down.
Meanwhile, scrub a medium potato and slice thinly. In another frying pan, add a little oil and layer about 2-3 layers of potatoes, overlapping, and in a circular pattern. Cook slowly until lightly browned and flip. Cook the other side until just tender (about 10-15 total cooking time). Set aside.
Sprinkle a filet of huss (monkfish is a fine substitution) with a little sea salt and ground white pepper. Coat in flour and shake off the excess. In the potato pan, add a little more oil until it smokes and place in the filet, presentation side down, as they say. Let it sizzle for about five minutes (it should be golden brown underneath), turn over gently, and brown the other side. Let it cook for another five minutes, remove, and set aside. This cooking time is based on a filet of 3 inches in depth, so I trust you’ll adapt accordingly.
(Note: The squid in the photo is optional. Goudgel the fishmonger slid it in with the huss, which made an excellent pairing. Make sure it's cleaned and slice open one side, score it, salt and pepper it, and throw it in the hot pan after coking the huss. It’ll begin to curl up into a fat long tube after a few minutes. Brown all sides, remove, and slice into ½- inch circles. Set aside).
Assemble your components: first taste your sauce. If it’s a bit too bitter, add ½ teaspoon of sugar, let it simmer a minute or two and taste it again. Season if necessary. Spoon into the bottom of your cazuela or small frying pan. It should come up about an inch high. Place in your circle of potatoes, and top off with your seared filet of huss.
Place in a hot oven (400°F/200°C) for no longer than 10 minutes. It should be bubbling. Scatter the squid around the filet during the last minute of cooking time. Needs to be piping hot.
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