Though hugely popular in Spain and Portugal, hake is often overlooked in Britain and makes a great, sustainable alternative to cod, albeit with a slightly milder flavour. Here it is served with a lightly spiced sauce almost like a traditional bouillabaisse. Cooking the fish in the sauce makes for a flavour-packed dish.
Hake and spiced saffron sauce
Serves 4
150ml extra virgin olive oil
250g fish bones
1 carrot
1 small onion
1 celery stick
2 star anise
2g coriander seeds
5g fennel seeds
2 cloves garlic
20g tomato puree
30ml brandy
30ml Pernod
100ml white wine
1g saffron
300ml fish stock
100ml chicken stock
4 x 150g hake fillets (skin on)
1 lemon
First make the sauce. Place 50ml of the oil into a large non-stick frying pan and place over a medium heat. Make sure the fish bones are relatively dry and add them to the pan, cooking until golden brown before placing to one side.
Meanwhile add 50ml of the oil to a large saucepan. Peel the carrot and onion and chop them along with the celery into 2cm dice. Add the vegetables to the pan and cook over a medium heat until golden brown before adding the star anise, coriander seeds, fennel seeds and garlic. Cook the spices for one minute before adding the tomato puree and stirring continuously for two minutes. Now add the brandy and Pernod and cook until almost no alcohol is left. Once this happens add the white wine and bring to the boil, simmering until almost completely reduced. Add the fish bones and saffron to the saucepan along with the fish and chicken stocks and bring to a simmer. Simmer gently for 30 minutes before removing from the heat and allowing to cool.
Set the oven to 150C/130C fan/gas mark 2.
Once the sauce has cooled, place it into a blender and blend for 20 seconds before straining it through a fine mesh sieve. Season the sauce well and pour it into a clean ovenproof pan.
Now season the hake well before adding it to the pan of sauce, skin side up. Warm the fish in the sauce gently for two minutes before placing the pan into the oven for 15 minutes.
Once the fish is cooked it should be tender and almost break when you touch it. Remove the pan from the oven and cut the lemon in half. Season the fish with a touch of lemon juice and drizzle over the remaining olive oil before serving on warmed plates with plenty of sauce.
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