At a time in the not-too-distant past, some friends and I were looking for a place to for dinner before a gig, and found ourselves at Prawn on the Lawn, a fishmonger/tiny restaurant in Islington, north London.

All their seafood is sourced from Britain, and they use some of that delicious local production for a small menu of dishes in an even smaller space.

Our table was a barrel (literally), and we squished together, 3 of us, slurping oysters and sampling each others’ main dishes. PS: If you go, have the expensive but absolutely delicious soda bread and butter.

The monkfish and chorizo stew was the inspiration for this recipe, and I have come up with my own version based on what I remembered it tasting of and what I like to eat.

Don’t mind the low-light iPhone photo, but this was some good seafood

In the UK, monkfish are a sustainable species, though they were in trouble for a while. It’s been an interesting ride for the monkfish as a food source. It went from a “trash fish” to “poor man’s lobster” to a delicacy that needed to be protected, and now it’s a sustainable, meaty and generally easy to find fish.

PS: Did you know that monkfish is a type of angler? No wonder you never see a whole one at the fishmonger, they are pretty ugly fish.

This is what happens when you have the time and light to take a reasonable photo.

This stew is hearty and warming, but not so hearty that you can’t enjoy it in the spring… though if you’re enjoying a spring that’s more like summer, you might want to save this recipe for the inevitable cooler days.

Serves: 2 hearty portions/4 with a starter or bread
Cook time: 35 minutes, not including prep

On the Counter

350 g monkfish cut into chunks
50 g chorizo
1 (400 g/14.5 oz) canned tomatoes
600 mL vegetable or fish stock
50 g carrots, about 1 large carrot
1 yellow or orange pepper
1 medium onion
1 stalk of celery
2 garlic cloves
2 tsp vegetable oil
1 tsp smoked paprika
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1 tsp salt
fresh parsley, chopped for serving

What to Do

Dice up the vegetables into bite-sized pieces, and mince the garlic. If you’re not very fond of celery, chop it smaller. Also dice the chorizo into 1 cm (1/4 inch) pieces.

Meanwhile, turn the oven on to broil/grill and roast the pepper on each side for 1-2 minutes, until blackened. Once it’s ready, put it in a bowl and cover with a cloth until it’s cool enough to touch. Peel it, removed the seeds and chop it.

In soup pot or casserole pot, heat the oil over medium-low until it shimmers. Add in the celery, carrots and onion until they start to soften, about 5 minutes. Push the vegetables to the side of the pan and add in the chorizo. Fry it, stirring, until it starts melting and browning, another 3-4 minutes.

Stir in the tomatoes, breaking up the large pieces with a wooden spoon. Add in the roasted pepper, stock, paprika, red pepper flakes and salt. Stir. Simmer, covered, on low heat for 10 minutes.

After the 10 minutes are up, add the monkfish pieces and cover the pot again. Let it cook for another 15 minutes.

Sprinkle fresh parsley in each bowl and serve.

I think, as time goes on, I’ve becoming more of a homebody. I love having people over, or visitings a friend’s place, for dinner and drinks, and spending time having great conversation around a home-cooked meal (or homemade cocktails) has become more appealing than it ever was before. It’s also a good excuse to have something you wouldn’t necessarily make on a regular basis, like, say … a big bowl of gooey mac and cheese loaded with chorizo.

Serve mac and cheese with garlicky greens to make it… slightly… less decadent.

When making mac & cheese with friends, the number one rule is to use as many utensils for mixing as there are people, so everyone can lick the spoon – and the host gets first dibs on the pan.

Thanks to fellow food blogger Amanda at My Jersey Kitchen for suggesting I write up this recipe!

A crunchy cheese topping is a must.

On the Counter

75 g/3 oz Spanish spicy chorizo, diced
1 tsp olive oil
100 g smoked Gouda
100 g mature cheddar
2 tsp smoked paprika
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 onion, chopped
1 green chili, diced [optional]
350 g/3/4
lb shell pasta (conchiglietti)
115 mL / 1/2 cup room temperature milk
2 tbsp flour
2 tbsp butter
dash of salt
a few grinds of white (or black) pepper

Equipment

whisk
bowl for mixing topping
spoon for stirring
spoon for tasting
saucepan big enough to cook pasta
buttered casserole dish, around 26 cm (10 in) long

What to Do

In the olive oil, sauté the onions until they’re just softening, then add the garlic, green chili and chorizo. You shouldn’t need any more oil, as the chorizo will give off plenty. Fry until the chorizo starts to darken, about 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, cook your pasta in heavily salted water, for about 3 minutes less than the package requests. Just before or at al dente is ideal. Once it’s cooked, rinse it with water and set aside. Give the pot a quick rinse.

Set the chorizo aside, and start your cheese sauce.

Heat the butter in your pasta pot until it’s melted and bubbly, add flour bit by bit and whisk together until you get doughy strings. It should take less than a minute.

Off the heat, slowly add in the room temperature milk. Put it back on very low heat (nearly as low as you can get it) and keep whisking until the bechamel (white sauce) thickens. You will notice a difference in the texture, and it should take about 3 or 4 minutes of whisking.

Preheat your oven to 180 C/350 F.

At that point, slowly pour the cheese into the white sauce, and keep stirring until all the cheese is melted. At this point, if you need a little more milk, adding it should not be a problem.

Add in the paprika, the garlic/chorizo/onion/chili, and some salt and pepper. Stir to combine, and then add the pasta in, mixing thoroughly to coat.

Spoon the cheesy macaroni into a buttered casserole dish, and smooth it flat. Top with cheesy panko topping. (below)

Bake for 25 minutes. Then, move to the broil/grill for 5 minutes to toast the topping.

Cheesy Panko Topping

1/2 cup (30 g) Panko bread crumbs
1 tsp smoked paprika
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup (50 g) grated cheddar and Gouda

Stir to combine.

PS: Check out My Kitchen Counter on instagram, where you can get a preview of things that will show up on the blog, plus a few other things that don’t quite make the recipe list.