Hake, Galician style:
One of the great stars of the northern Spanish cookbook, alongside tuna and salt-cod, has to be hake. Undervalued and misunderstood in the UK (near where most of it is fished) here hake is king.
Shopping for hake can be a wee bit confusing as it’s given a different name depending on its size – the smaller fish are called ‘pescadilla’, larger examples ‘mediana’ and the best pieces ‘merluza’. The very best hake is ‘merluza al anzuelo’ which is caught by rod and line, thus avoiding the bashing and thrashing of the nets which damages the meat, it’s expensive but worth trying if you can find it – you might be lucky and find it in the lñocal fishmonger, otherwise the larger fish markets in the cities such as Santander, Bilbao, Gijon or A Coruña with almost certainly have some.
Recipes for hake are usually quite simple, allowing the fish itself to be the star, here’s how they do it in Galicia:
- 6 hake steaks (rodajas de merluza)
- 1 kilo of potatoes
- 100g of peas
- 1 dessertspoon of paprika
- 6 tablespoons of olive oil
- 4 cloves of garlic
- chopped parsley
Preparation:
Peel the potatoes, cut them into thick slices and put them in a saucepan aloong with a clove of garlic, the chopped parsley and the salt. Cover with water, put the lid on and boil until teh potatoes are half cooked. Lay the hake on top of the potatoes and add the peas and continue cooking until both the fish and the potatoes are done (about 10 minutes).
Meanwhile heat the olive oil in a frying pan and add the chopped garlic. When it is nicely browned stir in the paprika and remove from the heat. Drain the liquid off the fish and potatoes, reserving a little for the paprika sauce. Place the potatoes on a serving dish and lay the fish steaks on top. Return the frying pan to the flame, add the reserved liquid and bring to the boil. Pour this sauce over the fish and serve.
