Aishling Moore: A trip to Vienna inspired this monkfish scampi with tomato and anchovy ketchup

Aishling Moore: "So simple and satisfying to throw together, the anchovy ketchup complements this weekend’s monkfish scampi wonderfully." Picture: Chani Anderson.

This weekend’s recipe is inspired by a Wiener schnitzel I had while on holiday in Vienna. I’ve always been a fan of a schnitzel; we have had a fish schnitzel on and off the menu for the past few years at Goldie.

Our unconventional version makes the most of the tails of round fish, the likes of cod, hake and pollock, but sometimes we will use the fillets of flat fish too.

The tails are removed from the bone, skinned, flattened out and coated in a panko breadcrumb. For service, they are fried crisp, seasoned with seaweed salt and a splash vinegar and served with a gherkin and celeriac remoulade, a soy-cured egg yolk and a caper noisette.

In Vienna, my classic schnitzel was an uber-thin escalope of veal, fried crisp and accompanied by a simple potato salad and a wedge of lemon. There was an option of a homemade cranberry sauce or a Viennese ketchup made of anchovies to go with.

Being an anchovy aficionado, I went for the ketchup, a silky smooth and piquant condiment that was delicious with the fried crumbed veal. The addition of anchovy was excellent, this was not a ketchup that tasted of fish, instead a sauce with Moorish quality that you wouldn’t expect.

I’ve had a go at recreating that very ketchup with a few store cupboard ingredients, like Worcestershire sauce, treacle, red wine vinegar, a tin of chopped tomatoes and the all-important anchovies.

So simple and satisfying to throw together, it complements this weekend’s monkfish scampi wonderfully.

Monkfish cheek scampi served with a gherkin ketchup are one of my favourite snacks to have on the menu at the restaurant. Cod cheeks are equally divine, but you can use just about any fresh fish you can get your hands on for this recipe.

 

Fish tales

· Ensure all the excess water from the tomatoes is cooked off before blending. This yields a better textured and flavoured result.

· You can use fresh tomatoes instead of tinned if you wish.

· Swap red wine vinegar for white wine, apple cider or rice vinegars.

· Season cautiously when sweating the onions as the anchovies are high in salt.

· If you don’t have a deep fryer, use a heavy-based pot filled halfway with oil and work in batches. A thermometer is essential if you don’t have a deep-fat fryer.

· The scampi can baked in a preheated oven, shallow or air fryer if you rather not deep fry.

· The scampi will also freeze well before cooking, provided the fish is fresh and well coated in the breadcrumbs. Layer between sheets of parchment paper to prevent from sticking together.