Living in a beautiful little harbour town with the most fantastic fish available,
I love experimenting with fish recipes. This monkfish curry is fantastic –
the lovely firm flesh of the monkfish works so well with the creamy coconut curry sauce.
The tender, meaty chunks of monkfish do a brilliant job of soaking up all that tomatoey curry sauce! They’re so filling and nourishing too.
I always end up craving a curry at some point in the week, so this is a brilliant way to add in some variety. Not to mention, it’s super quick and easy.
Also, it’s one-pan! That means the kitchen isn’t in absolute shambles by the time dinner is ready, which is a massive help.
📋 Ingredients
Oil – You can use any neutral oil, such as avocado, rapeseed or sunflower oil, for this recipe.
Stock – you can use homemade chicken stock or simply use a chicken stock cube dissolved in hot water.
Green Beans – If you don’t fancy green beans you can always replace them with peas, fresh chopped tomatoes, or samphire. Just add them in the last 5 minutes of cooking.
📺 Watch how to make it
***Full recipe with detailed steps in the recipe card at the end of this post***
- Heat the oil in a large pan.
- Add the onion and cook until softened.
- Add in the pepper, garlic, ginger and spices. Stir and cook for 2 minutes.
- Add the tomato puree, canned tomato, stock, and coconut milk. Stir and bring to a gentle bubble.
- Stir in the monkfish and green beans and heat until the monkfish is cooked through.
- You can add in a cornflour slurry at this stage to thicken the curry if you like.
- Stir in the spinach, turn off the heat and serve.
Pro Tip
Swap out the green beans or add in more veggies, if you like. Peas, chunks of fresh tomato or samphire all work really well with this dish. Just add them in for the last 5 minutes of cooking
This curry pairs really well with a peshwari naan or a garlic naan.
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🍽️ What to serve it with
I love the vibrant colours and those nice chunky pieces of fish.
🍲 More fantastic ways with seafood
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Heat the oil in a large frying pan (skillet) over a medium-high heat.
2 tbsp oil
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Add the onion to the pan and cook for 5 minutes, stirring often, until softened.
1 large onion
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Add the pepper, garlic, ginger, curry powder, coriander, cumin, paprika, salt and pepper. Stir and cook for a further 2 minutes.
1 red bell pepper, 2 garlic cloves, 2 tsp minced ginger, 2 tbsp medium-heat curry powder, 1 tbsp ground coriander, ½ tbsp ground cumin, 1 tsp paprika, ½ tsp salt, ½ tsp ground black pepper
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Add the tomato purée, canned tomato, stock and coconut milk. Stir together and bring to a gentle bubble.
2 tbsp tomato purée, 400 g (14 oz) can finely chopped tomatoes, 240 ml (1 cup) chicken stock, 400 ml (14 oz) can full-fat coconut milk
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Add the monkfish chunks and green beans and cook for 6–8 minutes, until the monkfish is cooked through.
500 g (1 lb 2 oz) monkfish fillets, 100 g (3.5 oz) extra-fine green beans
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If you would like to thicken the curry, slowly pour in the cornflour slurry, whilst stirring, until the thickness is to your liking.
1 tbsp cornflour (cornstarch in USA) mixed with 2 tbsp cold water to make a slurry
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Stir in the spinach (it should wilt quickly), then turn off the heat.
60 g (2 packed cups) baby spinach
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Serve with cooked rice, topped with fresh coriander, slices of fresh chilli, and naan on the side.
boiled rice, fresh coriander, 1 red chilli, naan
Yes, this can be made ahead, refrigerated or frozen.
Make the curry, then quickly cool, cover and refrigerate for up to 2 days.
Reheat in a pan over a medium heat (you may need to add a splash of water to loosen it up) until the monkfish is piping hot throughout. Keep a close eye on the monkfish when reheating to ensure you don’t overcook it, as it can dry out – being such a lean fish.
Freezing:
Make the curry, then quickly cool, and freeze it in an airtight container. Defrost in the refrigerator overnight, then reheat as per the ‘make ahead’ instructions above.
Ingredient swaps
You can add in (or swap out the green beans for) peas, fresh tomato or samphire. Add them in the last 5 minutes of cooking.
How to scale up and scale down this recipe.
This recipe can be doubled up for a crowd or halved for two people, sticking to the same ingredient ratios.
Nutritional information is per serving (this recipe serves 4), not including the serving suggestions such as rice or naan.
Calories: 414kcal | Carbohydrates: 20g | Protein: 26g | Fat: 27g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 6g | Cholesterol: 31mg | Sodium: 398mg | Potassium: 924mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 9g | Vitamin A: 2999IU | Vitamin C: 54mg | Calcium: 78mg | Iron: 3mg
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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