Like many of the kitchen tools we recommend, we like foods and ingredients that are versatile and when it comes to fish there’s no more versatile type than Hake. Hake has a delicate and almost sweet flavor profile (a little bit like crab or lobster) with thick firm white meat. Hake can be grilled, baked, poached, roasted, or sautéed.
Hake is in the same family as cod and there are over 10 species. In Europe, specifically in Basque country (Spain) there’s a very famous Hake recipe called “Koskera” made with lots of vegetables including peas, asparagus, etc.
My favorite way to prepare Hake is via a simple poaching method.
Ingredients:
- two large fillets of Hake
- parsley
- 2-3 pieces of thinly sliced pancetta
- 1/2 cup of wine
- juice of 1/4 lemon
- 1/2 cup of fresh filtered water
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
- extra virgin olive oil
Process:
Sprinkle Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper on both sides of the fillets and place in a shallow pan. Add the liquids, parsley, and pancetta and simmer for about 10-15 minutes depending on the size of your fish. Remove the fish to a plate and reduce the liquid. Place the reduced poaching liquid over the plated fish and sprinkle with freshly chopped parsley and a drizzle of olive oil.
Enjoy the fish with a salad of beet greens, arugula, fennel, and Boston lettuce.
