Seafood Made Simple: Try Aishling Moore's monkfish cheek and chorizo rice recipe

Plus the lessons we can learn from David Attenborough on overfishing

Monkfish cheek and chorizo rice. Picture: Chani Anderson

I was thrilled to hear that at the age of 99 the environmental icon David Attenborough’s latest National Geographic documentary would focus on the place where all life began, the ocean.

I was even more delighted to learn I could go and see this in the cinema. After a lifetime of exploration and discovery, Attenborough explains he now understands the most important place on earth is not on land but at sea. Over 3bn of us across the world depend on the ocean as our primary food source. Some 2,000 new marine species are discovered every year.

The film exposes the destruction of overfishing, trawling, and the devastation of dredging the ocean bed, destroying ecosystems of incomprehensible beauty and complexity. The illogical aggressive fishing of krill, a species of high importance within the ecosystem of the ocean, being used today in pet food, highlights the very real need for legislative reform.

The documentary offers solutions to this carnage. Establishing marine protected areas or ‘no take zones’ is a proven tactic which has regenerated parts of the ocean and seen species reemerge in areas. Currently, less than 3% of the ocean is protected. According to scientists, to save and regenerate the ocean we would need to protect at least one third of it.

Great success has been achieved in the Channel Islands marine sanctuary with migratory species of fish from the protected area spilling over into nearby areas increasing stocks.

World leaders will meet this month in France at the 2025 Un Ocean Conference, where “accelerating action and mobilising all actors to conserve and sustainably use the ocean” is on the table. Establishing marine protected areas must happen now.

David Attenborough’s Ocean will be available to stream on Disney on World Ocean Day, June 8.

Monkfish cheek and chorizo rice

recipe by:Aishling Moore

This dish would also work well swapping the chorizo for smoked bacon lardons and peas for sautéed mushrooms.

Servings

4

Preparation Time

 10 mins

Cooking Time

 30 mins

Total Time

 40 mins

Course

 Main

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp rapeseed oil

• 1 onion, finely diced

• 3 garlic cloves minced

• 90g chorizo, diced

• 1 tsp smoked paprika

• 1 tsp dried oregano

• 320g Carolino rice

• 75ml white wine

• 1.2l fish stock

• 100g frozen peas

• 200g monkfish cheeks or

• monkfish tail cut into chunks

• 2 sprigs flat leaf parsley

• Sea salt

• Freshly cracked black pepper

Method

1. Preheat oven to 190˚C.

2. In a large pot or ovenproof dish sweat the onion and garlic in rapeseed oil on a low heat for a couple of minutes until translucent. Season with sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper.

3. Add the chorizo and increase the heat slightly. Cook for two minutes.

4. Next add the smoked paprika and dried oregano and mix well with a wooden spoon.

5. Add the rice and stir to coat it in the lovely chorizo-flavoured oil. Cook for one minute.

6. While that’s happening warm your stock in a separate pot, this will speed up the cooking process.

7. Turn the heat up to medium-high and add the white wine to the rice and cook until completely evaporated.

8. Next add the warmed stock, stir well, and bring to the boil. Taste for seasoning at this stage.

9. Place the pot in the preheated oven and bake for 12- 15 minutes until all the stock is absorbed and the rice is cooked. You’re looking for a moist, risotto-like consistency here, with the surface of the dish beginning to catch.

10. If all the stock has been absorbed and the rice is still a little undercooked, add water and return to the oven. Once confident the rice is cooked, place the monkfish pieces and frozen peas across the top of the rice. Drizzle with a little rapeseed oil and season with sea salt. Return to the oven to bake for 3-5 minutes until the monkfish is cooked through.

11. Finish with chopped parsley and serve.

Fish tales

I’ve used Carolina rice for this recipe but any short grain rice like bomba would also work.

Instead of monkfish cheeks you could use chunks of cod, hake and pollock or skinned fillets of brill, megrim and plaice which will cook just as quickly.

When warming the stock, be careful not to over reduce which will upset the quantities of liquid needed to cook the rice.

I like this method of finishing in the oven as you achieve a variance in texture between the exposed surface area colouring and catching a little and the risotto-like texture beneath. You could cook this the whole way on the stove. If you do so, stir regularly to prevent the base of the pot from catching.

I’ve used a fish stock for this recipe, but vegetable stock or a light chicken stock would also work.

This dish would also work well swapping the chorizo for smoked bacon lardons and peas for sautéed mushrooms.