Mock Lobster Monkfish (Rape Alangostado): a Classic Spanish Recipe

An important recipe in the classic Spanish recipe book is "rape alangostado" — lobster-style monkfish. The basic idea is that monkfish flesh can resemble lobster, and by covering it with sweet paprika we add some flavour and, above all, imitate the colour of this crustacean.

I suppose this recipe made a lot of sense when monkfish was cheaper and lobster was already very expensive. Now we have farmed lobster and other seafood, and monkfish prices are sky-high, so from an economic point of view the recipe makes less sense. But since the result is very good, when you see a nice monkfish tail at the fishmonger's that isn't too expensive, it's worth trying.

I've mentioned before that at home I almost always do the cooking. On this occasion, a colleague gave my wife a version of this recipe, and she cooked it with good results. She was encouraged to try it because her colleague told her it was very easy. I'm not very fond of fish and tend to cook it rarely, although I do make some recipes I find interesting, like this one or this one. That's why my wife has started cooking it — I hope one day she'll also make sardines or something cheaper.

The image of lobster meat with this post is from this photographer, under a Creative Commons licence. The other image is our monkfish (still with its string), on a bed of potato.

Mock lobster monkfish

Ingredients

• 1 monkfish tail
• Salt
• Sweet paprika

Method

Ask the fishmonger to tie the monkfish very tightly after removing the skin and bones (which we'll keep for a stock another day). Rub the monkfish with salt and then with plenty of sweet paprika — its quality is essential for the result; brands like Carmencita never fail.

In my wife's recipe (well, her boss's), once tied you just put it in a hot oven, 10 minutes on each side. If after 10 minutes there's water at the bottom of the dish, remove it before turning. After 20 minutes the monkfish is done. I've seen other recipes where it's boiled after wrapping it in aluminium foil.

It's eaten cold or lukewarm, so the flesh takes on a lobster-like texture. Serve with boiled potato and mayonnaise.

Made the day before, it turns out very well. It ends up quite similar to Galician-style octopus. It was very good.

🌐 Llegeix aquesta recepta en català