This is a beautiful dish, a plateful of sweet, spicey, loveliness. The biscuits started life accidentally, when we were trying to make a coating for a chunk of fish that was to be baked. It kept falling off, so we decided to try another take, and rolled some out and baked it as biscuits. They’re really tasty, with the smooth creamy almond taste and the smoky paprika flavour of the chorizo substitute melding very well indeed. Gigantes beans can be found in Spanish or Greek delicatessens – they are giant butter beans and have a fantastic flavour and texture. Normal butterbeans can be substituted but will take less time to cook so watch them carefully otherwise they will turn into a mush. The beans need to be peeled – yes it is a pain, but it is worth it. They work nicely by themselves for a weekday dish too if you freeze them

The fish

350g monkfish cut into eight equal pieces

a small bunch of lemon thyme

a small bunch of flat leaf parsley finely chopped to serve

The beans

150g butter beans or gigantes beans, soaked overnight and drained

1 onion, halved

1 carrot, peeled and halved

1 stick of celery, cut into three

200ml chicken stock (or substitute Vegetable Nage for a vegetarian option)

100ml cider

100ml vegetable Vegetable Nage

a large bunch of lemon thyme, tied together with string

20 ripe cherry tomatoes

a large pinch of sweet paprika

a large pinch of turmeric

The biscuits:-

100g chorizo substitute, skinned and finely chopped

200g wholemeal breadcrumbs

80g ground almonds

75g butter

4 tbsp water

• Using either a dough hook on a mixer or your hands in a bowl, mix all the biscuits ingredients into a smooth shortcrust-like pastry. Roll into a ball, put on a plate, and put in the fridge for an hour

• Peel the soaked beans, and place in a medium sized saucepan with the onion, carrot, celery, chicken and/or vegetable stock, cider and the lemon thyme. Ensure the beans are covered with liquid. Bring to the boil and cook for 25-30 minutes until tender but holding their shape. Remove from heat

• Remove the onion, thyme, carrot and celery with a slotted spoon. There still should be enough liquid to just cover the beans. Season the beans and then add the paprika and turmeric. Set aside

• Meanwhile, heat an oven to 200C and roast the cherry tomatoes for 15 minutes. Allow to cool for a few minutes, then peel and add to the bean mixture. Set aside until you are ready to cook the fish

• Once the biscuit pastry has been in the fridge for an hour, flour your worktop lightly and roll out some of the pastry till it’s about 10mm (½”) thick. Use a knife or pastry cutter to cut out eight 75mm (3”) diameter discs. Place the discs on a silicon baking sheet on a baking tray and bake in the oven for 20 minutes. Remove carefully. They do break quite easily, so be careful when serving

• With 10 minutes to go on the biscuits, get the beans gently reheating, and get your steamer boiling, with the lemon thyme in the boiling water. Steam the monkfish pieces for a maximum of 7 minutes, so it’s only just cooked.

• Place a pile of beans on each plate, place two pieces of monkfish on top and drizzle over with some of the beans sauce. Place two biscuits alongside, sprinkle with parsley and serve