Cornish Hake Portion 160g

Cornish Hake 160g

All weights are +/- 10%

Hake is quite a mild fish, with a white flaky texture and a flavour that is more subtle than that of cod. The fish has a soft, iron-grey skin and silvery belly.

Pan-Fried Fillet of Hake

with roast garlic mash and peas served French style

For the Hake

4x160g Hake portions

1tbsp rapeseed oil

40g unsalted butter, diced salt and pepper, to taste

For the Roast Garlic Mash

2 large baking potatoes

1 bulb of garlic, wrapped in tin foil

80ml double cream

40 unsalted butter

For the Sauce

3 tbsp rapeseed oil

100g roscoff onions, peeled with root intact

85g pancetta, diced

125ml white wine

200ml chicken stock

80 fresh Scottish girolles

100g fresh peas

70g unsalted butter

1 bunch of fresh parsley, chopped

½ lemon, juiced

Salt and pepper

For the Garnish

A selection of wild herbs

To prepare the roast garlic mash, preheat an oven to 180C and cook the potatoes and garlic until soft, which should take approximately 40 minutes.

To prepare the sauce, in a large frying pan add 3 tablespoons of oil, onions and pancetta. Stir occasionally for an even colour. Add the wine, allow to almost evaporate, then add stock, turn heat down and cover with a lid.

To make the mash, cut the cooked potatoes in half when warm, remove the flesh, and push through a rice. Squeeze the garlic to remove the flesh and add to the mash. Bring the cream to a boil in a pan, add the mash, garlic and the butter and beat until smooth.

To cook the Hake, warm a frying pan on a medium-high heat, use a little silicone paper on the bottom of the pan to stop the fish from sticking if you don’t own a non-stick pan. Add the oil and place the fish skin-side down. Add the butter, season and put in the oven cooking for 4-6 minutes.

To finish cooking the sauce, remove the lid from the pan and turn the heat up to full. Add the mushroom, peas and butter. The sauce should coat the back of a spoon. Finish by adding the chopped parsley and lemon juice and a little season to taste.

To serve, remove the fish from the oven, gently squeeze the piece of fish and it should spring back. Present the mash into the centre of the plate. Spoon the peas, onions and pancetta mix and a little of the sauce around the mash. Place the fillet of fish, skin-side up on top of the mash. Finally garnish with a few herbs of your choice.