Bruce Wilson, head chef at Paternoster Chop House, and Francesco Gaeta, the restaurant’s head sommelier, come up with a Cornish/Chilean food and wine match worth trying…

“It’s all happening,” according to Bruce Wilson, head chef at Paternoster Chop House. You might be forgiven for thinking he’s referring to the protestors encamped outside St Paul’s (it’s business as usual at Paternoster), but actually he’s talking about the bounty coming from his Cornish fish supplier Dylan Bean.

Dylan runs Kernowsashimi from Falmouth Bay in Cornwall. His boat, the Lady Hamilton, and half a dozen other small fishing vessels supply freshly caught fish to Paternoster and at the moment there is an abundance of white fish, like cod, haddock and monkfish. We’re also now moving into the season for Cornish squid, which will last only until Christmas, so it’s worth stocking up (you can buy Dillon’s fish direct from The Fish Shop at Kensington Place).

Eager to make the most of this beautiful white fish, Bruce came up with a recipe of Cornish monkfish with Paignton mussels & clams served with root vegetable vinaigrette. It is a perfect way to serve fish in the autumn as it is essentially a stew – warming, hearty and full of fresh flavours. The recipe is below.

What to drink… Californian Chardonnay

Monkfish is meaty in texture and can stand up to punchy flavours. It pairs well with a medium to full-bodied wine like Chilean Chardonnay. Francesco Gaeta, head sommelier at Paternoster [above], recommends the 2009 Montes Alpha from Chile’s Casablanca Valley, which is served by the glass for £9.75 at Paternoster.

Montes Alpha is a “serious” alternative to classic French Burgundy, which costs a lot more, he explains. The Montes Alpha really works with this dish, because the oak in the Chardonnay counterbalances the strong flavours of the vinaigrette. As a result the oakiness melts away, allowing the fruity creaminess of the wine to come through.

Enjoy!

Recipe

Roast Cornish monkfish, mussels & Palourde clams, served with root vegetable vinaigrette

Ingredients: (serves 4)

• 1 monkfish tail of at least 1kg in weight, filleted and cut into 4 equal pieces
• A little butter for cooking
• 500g mussels, cleaned
• 500g Palourde Clams, cleaned
• 1 glass (125ml) dry white wine
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 sprig thyme
• 50g marsh samphire
• 50g sea aster
• leaves from 30g water celery
• For the vinaigrette:
• drizzle oil for cooking
• 2 medium carrots, peeled and diced very small
• 3 sticks celery, peeled and diced very small
• 3 medium shallots, peeled and sliced very fine
• ½ bunch flat leaf parsley (approx 15g with stalk)
• zest and juice of 1 lemon
• 100ml good olive oil
• Maldon sea salt
• freshly-milled black pepper

Method:

Pre-heat the oven to 180ºC.

To make the vinaigrette, heat a heavy-bottomed saucepan until hot but not smoking. Add a little oil followed quickly by the shallots, carrots and celery. Stir for 10-20 seconds, then add the lemon zest and juice.

Continue stirring for 10 seconds, then remove from the heat, season and add the olive oil. Finely chop the flat leaf parsley and stalk and add to the vinaigrette. Leave to cool.

Next, heat an ovenproof non-stick frying pan until hot but, again, not smoking and add a little oil. Season the four monkfish fillets before colouring in the pan – you’re looking for a golden colour. At that point add the butter to the pan and baste the fish with it. Place the entire pan in the oven for four minutes for the monkfish to finish cooking. Remove from the oven and rest.

While the fish is resting, place a heavy-bottomed saucepan or skillet wide enough for the shellfish on the heat. Once hot, add a little oil and the cleaned shellfish – you should hear a sizzling noise.

Now add the garlic, thyme and white wine. Cover and cook for 1-2 minutes until the shellfish has opened. Remove the lid and add your sea vegetables. Stir for 20-30 seconds to allow them to soften and remove from heat. Add the vinaigrette to the pan and stir in. Check the seasoning.

To finish the dish, place a generous spoonful of the shellfish stew into four large pasta bowls. Place one fillet of monkfish on top of each and spoon over the remaining mixture. Serve immediately.

Further information:

You can book to eat this dish at Paternoster Chop House until the middle of September (of course, this depends on Dylan’s supply of monkfish, but you can be guaranteed some other delicious Cornish fish if not!).