If you attended the Second Annual Family Dinner at South Portland Middle School, you might have tried the monkfish with coconut lime red sauce! Below is the recipe by Chef Khadija Ahmed if you would like to try cooking it at home.
Ingredients
3-4 Roma tomatoes, quartered
1 cup white onion, coarsely chopped
1 cup red bell pepper, coarsely chopped
2 tbsp avocado oil, divided (olive or another neutral oil is fine)
1/3 c unsweetened coconut milk
1 tbsp fresh lime juice
2-3 cloves garlic, roughly chopped, or 1 tsp garlic powder
1 inch piece ginger, peeled and minced, or 1 tsp ground ginger
1/8 tsp freshly ground nutmeg
1 tsp Kosher salt
1 1/2 pounds Acadian redfish (ocean perch) or another
local white fish such as hake, pollock, monkfish, or haddock)
1 cup fresh basil leaves for serving (optional)
Instructions
Preheat oven to 425°F. Spread tomatoes, onion, and pepper out on a parchment lined baking sheet. Add 1 tablespoon of oil and toss well to combine, then spread out again. If using fresh garlic and ginger, toss with other vegetables.
Roast the vegetables until browned in parts and cooked through, about 30 minutes.
Transfer the vegetables to a food processor and process until smooth.
Place vegetable puree in a medium saucepan with the coconut milk, lime juice, garlic powder, ginger, and nutmeg (if you used fresh ginger and garlic, do not add the garlic powder and ginger here). Add 1/2 tsp salt and simmer over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally until the sauce is warmed through and the flavors develop, about 6 minutes.
Place the fish in a 9 1/2” x 13 1/2” baking dish. Drizzle the fish all over with the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil and sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Place in oven and roast until par-cooked, about 8 minutes for redfish. Thicker filets will need a little longer.
Remove from the oven and pour the sauce over the fish. Place back in the oven and continue to roast until the fish is cooked through, about 5 mover minutes. Serve warm, garnished with fresh basil leaves, if desired.
