Monkfish Kabobs

With Christian Collins

Monkfish is a versatile fish that resembles the texture of swordfish so that it holds up to being grilled on a skewer.From Christian Collins by Heather Atwood, 2011: Here are some facts about Christian Collins:   The first day of his first job in a restaurant kitchen, at age fourteen, he thought «I get this.»  With his fiancee’s encouragement, he auditioned successfully against 20,000 other amateur cooks for a spot on the Fox MasterChef television series, the culinary version of American Idol.  Collins began the series with ninety-nine others, from fire-fighters to large machine operators to former beauty queens.  He impressed judges Joe Bastinich, Graham Elliot and cut-from-the-mean-guy-school of chefs, Gordon Ramsey, for eight weeks of shooting, ending in the top three of the twenty-episode series.  Collins’ veal chop lost out on the final night to Adrien’s octopus and Jen’s mushrooms.  (Jen, former Miss Delaware, won.  With the $250,000 prize money, she’s helping her neice and nephew pay for college, and she bought herself a new snowboard.)

Here are some subjective thoughts about Christian Collins.  Contrary to Gordon Ramsey’s accusations, he’s not arrogant at all.  I think he’s a passionate, naturally gifted cook.  He’s direct and confident not so much about himself, but about his food.  He’s sure of his Spicy, Chili Garlic Mussels.  He knows his signature Shipwreck Stew is good; he started getting food when he was fourteen, remember?  When someone has a calling so young, it may be hard to separate out arrogant personality from ardent belief in what one is doing.    

I first met Christian at the Gloucester Farmer’s Market where he, local cook Laurie Lufkin and I judged the NAMA sponsored seafood throwdown, Amelia Lopes from Amelia’s vs. Jessica O’Leary from The Breakfast Cafe.  Laurie and I were happily impressed by Collins’ professionalism, courtesy, and most of all respect for what both kitchens were doing that day with the mystery fish - skate.  Later, Collins came to my house to make a video for Taste of the Times.   Again, he was as proud of his Monkfish Kebabs with Saffron Sauce as he should have been, but the pride rose from the food, not his ego.  The perfectly grilled fish and vegetables, over a saffron-scented mound of white beans, laced with a deep yellow saffron sauce (we tried to come up with a word to describe the taste of saffron, but agreed there’s nothing like it) had reason to gloat.  It’s a fish entree with so much color, geometry and taste it swaggers.  

Kind, happy, funny, even a little nervous, Collins the personality guided the monkfish, linquica and beans to center stage, but Collins the personality soon ducked behind the curtain, washing up his dishes, imagining his next great dish.

Ingredients

For the Monkfish Linguica Kabobs

1 ½  pounds monkfish cubed
1/2 pound linquica sliced
1/2 a red onion cut into 1 inch pieces
20 cherry tomatoes
1 can white beans
2 cups chicken stock
Large pinch of saffron
Olive oil
Salt and pepper
For the Saffron Cream Sauce

1 cup chicken stock
1 cup heavy cream
2 pinches saffron
1 garlic clove smashed
1 pinch cumin
1/4 teaspoon paprika (Spanish)
1 tablespoon corn starch
2 tablespoons warm water

Instructions

For the Monkfish Linguica Kabobs1. Skewer fish, sausage, tomatoes, and onion.  Brush with oil and season with salt and pepper. 
2. Strain and rinse beans.  Combine with stock and saffron and bring to a gentle simmer.  Heat beans through.  Set aside. 
3. Grill kebabs over medium-hot heat until fish is cooked through, about 3-4 minutes a side.  

To serve, make a mound of beans on each plate.  Lay the skewer across the beans, (or push the fish and vegetables off the skewer and lay upon the beans).  Drizzle all with the saffron sauce.For the Saffron Cream Sauce1. Combine chicken stock and heavy cream, bring to boil.  Stir. 
2. Add remaining ingredients except cornstarch and water, simmer 5 minutes.
3. Thicken with cornstarch-water mixture.

Recipe courtesy of Christian Collins, Sustenance, www.chefchristiancollins.com, 2011.

Born and raised in the oldest fishing port in the country, Gloucester,MA. Christian is an ambitious chef who is always striving to make people happy through the food he makes.  He recently was one of the top 3 contestants out of the original 23,000 applicants on Fox Television national TV show Masterchef. Christian has been in the industry for over five years and is now ready to branch out on his own bringing you inspired food with SUSTENANCE!

"Cooking to me is a journey through the senses, from finding the freshest ingredients, preparing them with the best techniques, and presenting them in the most exciting way possible!"  "Making people happy through food is the ultimate compliment. Knowing that i can create a lasting memory through someone's palate is what drives to be a chef."

From Masterchef website:

About Shipwreck Sea Stew

“I was nervous. I used a dungeness crab, which I had never used before for the dish because they're not native to Massachussetts. Seeing how they were in season in California, I needed to go with the freshest seafood I could find!”

Who was your first cooking inspiration?

As a boy, I would chop olives for my grandmother. I would take my time and get them all diced into perfect little squares and she would say, "You chop the olives better than I do! You could be a chef someday." I guess Nanny's intuition was right!
 
What is the first dish you ever mastered?

Braised short ribs. They are a two-day process, but taking this lesser cut of meat and working it into satisfying, savory goodness is gastronomic gratification.

What is your favorite thing to cook?

I don't have one favorite thing. Food is constantly evolving for me. I love cooking fresh veggies from the garden or a fresh fish that I caught. Having a connection to the food I make and eat is important. It's hard to do it every meal of every day but when you do, those are the food memories that last a lifetime.

What did you learn as a contestant on MASTERCHEF?

I learned to be myself, and follow my dreams no matter what. I'm constantly learning in the kitchen, and when you stop learning you stop being passionate. This is my purpose in life and I look forward to being a professional chef.