We often have a bottle of anise-flavoured spirit like Pernod or Ricard Pastis lurking at the back of the cupboard. While they can be used to make cocktails, they also add great flavour to sauces such as this light summer stew.

Ingredients

1x200g fillet of monkfish

1 tbsp mayonnaise

6 shell-on king prawns

2 echalion shallots, cut into ½cm rounds

2 cloves garlic, crushed

75g butter

100ml Ricard Pastis or Pernod

100ml white wine

1 fish stock pot

200g passata

350g waxy potatoes

20g fresh parsley

Pinch of saffron

20ml garlic oil

20ml basil oil

1 lemon, zest and juice

Salt & pepper to taste

Single cream for drizzling

Method

1. In a saucepan, fry the garlic in the butter until softened but not browned.

2. Stir in the Pastis or Pernod and white wine; reduce by a quarter.

3. Meanwhile, peel the potatoes and cut into small chunks. Boil until just starting to give, then drain and set aside.

4. Add 200g passata to the garlic, wine and Pastis, along with a pinch of saffron. Simmer for 15 minutes until thick with a soup-like consistency, adding salt and pepper to taste.

5. Finely chop the parsley and mix with the basil oil, lemon zest, and juice of ½ the lemon.

6. Toss the shallot rounds in garlic oil and salt, and grill until blackened and soft.

7. Chop the monkfish into 3-4cm chunks and coat in mayonnaise (to stop it sticking to the grates) and grill until cooked through.

8. Grill the prawns until pink and charred.

9. In a flat bowl, pour in the saffron tomato sauce, add the potatoes, monkfish, prawns and shallots.

10. Drizzle over the parsley oil followed by a tablespoon of single cream.