Gone are the days when monkfish used to be caught and thrown back into the sea. No one wanted to eat it so nobody sold it.

These days, it is very popular and an ideal fish for the barbecue. You need a firm fish, so cod, for example does not work. Salmon is fine and, recently gurnard has been growing in popularity. It is a reddish skinned fish with a firm meaty flavour. Amelda and, yes, even at this age, the children, love monkfish. I am delighted to see them eating fish so young.

This marinade is also good with salmon, chicken and pork. Thai Gold make a very good sweet chili sauce. The salsa verde is great with roast lamb or steak. And lots of people enjoy the salty taste of anchovies. You will find them easily in tine or jars and they are lovely in a salad. In France salade ni?oise is one of their traditional salads and it is topped with anchovies.

I made these five spice chicken thighs at a Craft Buthers berbecue a while back in Dublin and they went down a treat. And I also made it for the staff recently when one of our chefs, Colin Green, was heading off to Australia after six years with us. He will be sadly missed but he is a very versatile chef and it will be a lucky restaurant down under that gets him.

I love the five spice powder in a marinade and this one is good with pork or lamb chops. In fact it is a really good all-round meat marinade.

The secret of this recipe is in the slow cooking, which would leave a breast fillet dry and tasteless. When using thighs you end up with crispy skin and succulent, well flavoured flesh.

Happy cooking.

THIS WEEK’S RECIPES

SPICY MONKFISH KEBABS

Serves eight to 10

800g monkfish fillets, trimmed and cut into 3cm chunks

1 tbsp finely chopped flat leaf parsley

Marinade

1 tablespoon rapeseed oil

1 clove garlic, crushed

75ml dark soy sauce

1 teaspoon grated ginger

1 teaspoon caster sugar

1 tablespoon sweet chilli sauce

Salsa verde

2 large handfuls of flat leaf parsley leaves (from an approx 50g bunch)

1 tablespoon capers

4 anchovy fillets

1 clove garlic

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

1 tablespoon lemon juice

100ml extra virgin olive oil

Lemon wedges, to serve

1. Combine the marinade ingredients together in a non-metallic dish or large food bag. Toss the monkfish pieces through to coat and then leave to marinade in the fridge for 2-3 hours.

2. To make salsa verde, blend the parsley, capers, anchovies and garlic together in a food processor. When this forms a paste add the mustard, lemon juice and olive oil. Blend again, season to taste and pour into a serving bowl. This can be stored in the fridge covered for up to one week.

3. Soak 12 wooden skewers in water for 30 minutes (no need to soak if using metal skewers). Thread monkfish onto skewers.

4. Cook the monkfish kebabs on a very hot BBQ or non-stick pan for eight to 10 minutes, turning regularly. Pour any remaining marinade into a small pan and simmer for three to four minutes until reduced. Brush this over the monkfish as it cooks or save it for serving if preferred.

5. To serve, pile the kebabs onto a large serving platter. Garnish with the lemon wedges and serve with the salsa verde.

FIVE-SPICE CHICKEN THIGHS

Serves four

6 garlic cloves, sliced

1 large shallot, roughly chopped

1 tbsp minced fresh root ginger

4 tsp sugar

4 tbsp dark soy sauce

4 tbsp Thai fish sauce (nam pla)

1/2 tsp Chinese five-spice powder

8 boneless chicken thighs

100g (4oz) green beans, sliced into

2cm (1in) lengths

275g (10oz) mixed salad leaves

1 small red pepper, halved, seeded and diced

225g (8oz) cherry plum tomatoes, halved or quartered

2-3 tbsp vinaigrette

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Very fine shreds of carrot and longthin fresh chives, to garnish

1. To make the marinade, place the garlic in a mini food processor or blender with the shallot, ginger and sugar. Blend to form a paste. Transfer to a small bowl and whisk in the soy sauce, Thai fish sauce, five-spice powder and several grinds of pepper.

2. Arrange the chicken thighs in a shallow dish and pour over the marinade, turning until well coated. Cover and chill for at least two hours (up to 24 hours is best) turning the thighs several times in the marinade. Bring back to room temperature before cooking and wipe off any excess marinade with kitchen roll.

3. Heat a frying pan over a medium heat. Add a drop of oil to the pan, then place the chicken thighs in it skin-side down. Cook for 20-30 minutes until the skin is nice and crispy. Don’t be tempted to touch them while they are cooking or to shake the pan occasionally. Just leave them alone and you will produce the most fantastic crisp skin and succulent flesh.

4. When you can see that the chicken thighs are nicely browned and that the flesh is almost but not quite cooked through. Turn them over and cook for another five to six minutes until completely cooked through and tender. Remove from the heat and leave to rest in a warm place for five minutes.

5. Blanch the green beans in a pan of boiling salted water for a minute until just tender, then drain and refresh under cold running water.

6. Place the salad leaves in a large bowl with the blanched beans, red pepper and tomatoes. Season to taste and then add enough vinaigrette to lightly dress the salad and toss well.

7. Divide among plates, then carve the chicken thighs into pieces and place on top. Garnish with the carrot shreds and chives, if you like.