100 calorie monkfish chermoula

A main course for 100 calories? Yes, that's possible in Kalpna Woolf's inspiring and original new book Spice Yourself Slim which explores how spices can enhance your diet.

Of course you'll need some veggies too but it will still work out remarkable low in calories.

Kalpna writes: I am always keen to experiment with storecupboard spices to create new and exciting flavours and bring more taste and goodness to my dishes. This marinade is probably one of the most versatile and delicious you can make. The ingredients can vary, but normally, roasted cumin and coriander seeds are mixed with saffron, ginger, garlic, paprika and fresh parsley and coriander.

Chermoula is a powerful combination of taste and spice equilibrium that originates from North Africa, and the mix definitely evokes the smells and tastes of that region and Moroccan souks and medinas. This can be made in advance and kept in the refrigerator for a few days.

Serves 4

Calories per serving: 102

Ingredients

300g/10.oz monkfish fillets, cut into thick 10–15cm/4–6in chunks

For the chermoula marinade

1 tbsp cumin seeds

1 tbsp coriander seeds

½ tsp ground paprika

1 tsp chilli (red pepper) flakes or cayenne pepper (optional)

½ tsp finely chopped fresh ginger

1 garlic clove, peeled and finely chopped

5–6 saffron threads, soaked in 2 tbsp warm water for 3–4 minutes

juice of 1 lemon, set aside 1 tbsp for the fish

2 tbsp olive oil

½ tsp salt

a large handful of fresh coriander (cilantro) leaves, finely chopped

a small handful of fresh parsley leaves, finely chopped

Method

To make the chermoula marinade, heat a small, heavy-based frying pan over a medium heat. Add the cumin and coriander seeds and gently dry-fry for 3–4 minutes until roasted and the aroma is released (be careful that the seeds don’t burn). Allow to cool, then grind in a food processor or pestle and mortar into a powder. Place the powder and all the remaining ingredients, including the water from the saffron, in a food processor and blend into a medium-thick paste.

Place the fish on a foil-lined baking tray and spoon over the chermoula paste, spreading it over all sides of each piece of fish. Cover with foil and leave to marinate in the refrigerator for 15–20 minutes.

Preheat a grill to medium.

Remove the foil cover from the fish, place the baking tray under the grill and cook the fish for about 8 minutes. When the fish is cooked, squeeze the juice from the remaining lemon over the fish and serve.

Tips

Although this recipe is for fish, you can use this marinade for chicken and lamb dishes (if marinating meat, leave the marinade for longer and even overnight to infuse).

For a delicious vegetarian option, marinate a selection of vegetables and roast with the chermoula paste.

What to drink:
I'm assuming you're probably not drinking with this if you're trying to lose weight 😉 but a small glass of dry rosé would be a good match.

Extracted from Spice Yourself Slim by Kalpna Woolf which is published by Pavilion Books. Photography © Clare Winfield. You can find Kalpna's website on www.kalpnawoolf.com

Zarzuela

A robust Spanish fish stew from Stevie Parle's fabulous new Dock Kitchen Cookbook. Stevie is one of the best -travelled and most original chefs in London with a well-honed magpie tendency of picking up ingredients and techniques from every country he visits. He also writes a weekly column in the Daily Telegraph.

Catalonian fish stew with mussels (zarzuela)

Serves 6

This Catalonian recipe first caught my eye because of its extraordinary name. A beautiful saffron-laced fish stew, it is baked in the oven with a picada of almonds, garlic, saffron and parsley. Picada is a useful tool, a way to add punch, usually with raw garlic, sometimes paprika or almonds.

Zarzuela is also the name of an operetta or a variety show in Spain; I imagine the name comes from the many kinds of fish in the stew.

500g monkfish tail

1 small red onion, roughly chopped

½ small heart of celery, roughly chopped

olive oil

2 bay leaves

2 sprigs of thyme

1 tsp paprika piccante

400g can of whole plum tomatoes, washed of

their juice

200ml white wine

50g coarse breadcrumbs

2 garlic cloves, green sprouts removed

sea salt

a few sprigs of parsley

pinch of saffron

50g blanched almonds (preferably Spanish)

1 red mullet, filleted

400g wild bass fillet, cut into 4 pieces

200g small, clean rope-grown mussels

If it hasn’t already been done by your fishmonger, pull the skin from the monkfish: you should be able to do this with your hands and the occasional nick with a sharpknife to help you on your way. Cut the fish through the central bone into four pieces.

Fry the onion and celery in a heavy-based pan in olive oil with the bay leaves, thyme and paprika. After about 10 minutes, once the vegetables are soft, add the tomatoes, increase the heat and add the white wine. Simmer for 20 minutes. Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F/gas mark 6.

Meanwhile, make the picada. Fry the breadcrumbs in a generous splash of olive oil until golden and crunchy. Crush the garlic with salt, parsley and saffron, add thealmonds and pound until coarsely ground. Add the fried breadcrumbs and set aside while you assemble the dish.

Place the monkfish, red mullet and bass in an earthenware oven tray and pour over the tomato sauce. Add a little water and the mussels, then sprinkle over thepicada. Bake in the hot oven until the fish is easy to flake apart and the mussels open (about 15 minutes).

Serve with a plate of greens or potatoes liberally dressed with olive oil and sherry vinegar.

What to drink:
There are several ways to go with this robustly-flavoured dish. My own preference, I think, would be for a dry Spanish rosado from Rioja or Navarra but you could drink an Albarino or even a young red like the increasingly fashionable Mencia or a young (joven) Rioja. Chilled manzanilla sherry would be great too.

You can visit the Dock Kitchen website here - it's a little out of the way but has a great atmosphere and fabulous food. Well worth a visit.

Photograph © Toby Glanville