One of the most underrated fish that I have ever tried is hake. One of the finest sources of essential fatty acids, protein, minerals and fat-soluble vitamins like vitamin A, E and D. In this recipe you learn how to cook hake in the oven with mustard and ginger sauce.
Hake is a benthic (demersal) fish that prefers to live close to ocean bed in deep waters at a depth of 70-300 mts. They are voracious predators and feed on small fish, crustaceans, and fish eggs. During the night they return to surface waters.
Hake fish are available year-round, as a whole, headed & gutted or as fillets here in the UK. Breaded portions, smoked, salted (white and red hake) are also available in selected fishmongers like my one near in Acton, London.
They are best from March till July. Look for bright, firm fish with silvery skin, pink gills and clear eyes. The fish has few bones and these are easy to remove which is great if you have kids. Avoid buying fillets as they tend to disintegrate during cooking. Buying a whole one would easily feed a family of four and would be really easy to clean.
The only issue that I see with hake is that you need to have a very particular sauce to pair it with as I feel it can be tasteless without it. So don’t expect to go only with lemon and olive oil ..
In the past, I have tried various combinations but I particularly enjoyed the following recipe my mother did the last time she was here with us in London. Basically, she managed to merge different spices we had on our cupboards and create something I wouldn’t dare to be honest.
Mustard with hake is a really nice combination which I would really invite you to try.
Ingredients for Hake with mustard and ginger in the oven
- 300-500gr of potatoes sliced
- 1 large red onion sliced
- Garlic
- Olive oil
- 1 vegetable stocking cube
- Turmeric
- Garam masala
- Mustard seeds
- Ginger trimmed
- Just a slice of curry paste
- Salt and Pepper
Take a deep pan for the oven and spread some olive oil around. Add the sliced potatoes together with the onion slices, garlic and the stocking cube which you will spread in small pieces.
In one bowl, mix a little bit of olive oil, turmeric, Garam masala, mustard seeds, trimmed ginger and curry paste. Mix it all well together until it becomes a good paste and put it all over the fish inside and out.
Don’t forget to add salt and pepper.
Place the fish on top of the potatoes, add some water to the pan so it won’t stick and cook it for around 30-45 mins or until its done.
Enjoy and let me know how you did!
p.s. Obviously, as this is a live blog and not a professional one. I can understand that the pictures might not do justice to the recipe. But in this case for the hake you need to try before you judge
