Spiced monkfish with creamy curry

Ingredients

For the spiced monkfish

150g/5½oz monkfish tail, membrane removed
drizzle of olive oil, pinch dried chilli, ½ tsp ground cumin
½ tsp ground coriander, ½ tsp curry powder
1 tbsp chopped fresh coriander

For the creamy curry
1 tbsp vegetable oil
½ onion, finely sliced
4 tsp Garam masala
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
125ml/4fl oz hot chicken stock
1 can chopped tomatoes
125ml/4fl oz double cream
salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method

1. 
   For the spiced monkfish, drizzle the monkfish with olive oil. In a bowl, mix together the spices and chopped coriander and sprinkle over the fish. Heat a little olive oil in a frying pan, add the spiced monkfish and fry over a medium heat for 3-4 minutes on each side, or until just cooked. Remove from the heat and set aside.
2. 
   For the vegetable curry, heat the vegetable oil in a saucepan, add the onion and fry over a gentle heat for five minutes, or until softened. Add the spices and garlic and fry for one minute.
3. 
   Add the chicken stock, tomatoes and simmer for 3-4 minutes. Add the cream, salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste, and simmer for one minute.
4. 
   To serve, spoon the vegetable curry into a serving dish and top with the spiced monkfish.

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Royal Jelly

Royal Jelly is a substance of complex chemical structure produced by the young nurse bees as larva food. Although Royal Jelly is not quite as well known as bee pollen, royal jelly equals pollen in its salutary effects.

The young nurse bees make royal jelly; it is a secretion from glands on the tops of their heads. For 2-3 days, royal jelly is the only food given to all young larvae in their maturation process. For the queen larvae, it is the specific food for their whole life. During the 3 days in which the worker bee larvae are fed on royal jelly they reach the maximum development; their weight multiplies about 250 times.

Queens (fed only on royal jelly for their entire life) reach maturity 5 days earlier than the workers and when fully grown, her weight is double that of the working bee.

The span of the worker bee's life is about 35-40 days; while the queen lives 5-6 years and is extremely prolific. She is fertilized once and from that moment on can lay as many as three thousand eggs a day during the season. As incredible as this may seem, she can lay that many eggs for five years. Any creature that has that amount of energy and vitality has to be respected!

This rich concentrated food is not just useful for the bees. It contains remarkable amounts of proteins, lipids, glucides, vitamins, hormones, enzymes, mineral substances, and specific vital factors that act as biocatalysts in cell regeneration processes within the human body.
Although some of the elements found in royal jelly are in microgram quantities, they still can act supremely with co-enzymes as catalysts or can act synergistically i.e. the elements' action combined is greater than the sum of their actions taken separately.

Royal jelly is rich in protein, vitamins B-1, B-2, B-6, C, E, niacin, pantothenic acid, biotin, inositol and folic acid. In fact, it contains seventeen times as much pantothenic acid as that found in dry pollen.

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Tomato and onion chutney

Tomato Onion Chutney

INGREDIENTS:

¼ cup + 2 Tbsps. red wine vinegar
¼ cup + 1 ¼ tsps. Granulated sugar
¼ cup + 1 ¼ tsps. dark brown sugar, packed
1 tsp. fresh garlic, minced
1 Tbsp. + 1 ½ tsps. Ginger root, peeled, minced
1 cup diced tomatoes

2 ½ oz. onions, sliced ½ inch thick
½ tsp. salt
¼ tsp. crushed red pepper
2 Tbsps. + 3 /4 tsp. golden raisins

DIRECTIONS:

1. Combine all ingredients except raisins in a large stockpot. Bring to a boil, lower heat then simmer 30 minutes.

2. Add raisins. Simmer an additional 20 minutes or until most of the liquid is evaporated and raisins are plump. Cool, cover and keep chilled for service.