Recipes - Pan fried fillet of hake with oven roasted cherry tomatoes, pesto and creamy mashed rooster potatoes.

Pan fried fillet of hake with oven roasted cherry tomatoes, pesto and creamy mashed rooster potatoes. Delicious.

Fish:

4 x 6/8oz pieces of hake fillet; each one cut into 2.
Butter for frying.
Freshly squeezed lemon juice.
Parsley, finely chopped.
Plain flour; to dredge fish in.
Salt, Malden is best & freshly ground white pepper.

Mash:

6 large Red Rooster potatoes, peeled and quartered.
Pan of boiling salted water, big enough to cover spuds.
Double cream, about 8Fl oz.
Butter, 100g.
Some freshly grated nutmeg.
Salt, as above and freshly ground black pepper.

Oven roasted tomatoes:
32, 8 each, cherry tomatoes.
Virgin olive oil
2 cloves of garlic, crushed.
Salt, as above and freshly ground white pepper.

Pesto:

Handful of fresh basil leaves.
½ cup fresh parsley, chopped.
½ cup virgin olive oil.
¼ cup freshly grated parmesan or pecorino but NOT THAT DREADFUL PRE GRATED STUFF THAT SMELLS LIKE THE FEET OF A ROTTING CORPSE!!!!
¼ cup pinenuts.
Salt, as above and freshly ground black pepper.


Method.

Mash.

Put potatoes into boiling salted water and reduce heat until water is simmering. Cook until a fork passes through spuds easily but without them falling apart. Once ready, drain the water and return potatoes to pot and let stand for a short while on a very low heat to dry off excess moisture.
Pass through a ricer or vegetable mooli, you could use an old masher instead, beat in butter then mix in the cream, bit by bit. Be careful not to add too much cream or you will end up with soup. Check seasoning and add nutmeg to taste. Put a clean tea towel over pot then the lid and set aside until your fish is ready.

Pesto.

Whilst potatoes are cooking put all the ingredients in a food processor and pulse until you reach the required texture. You may need a little extra olive oil to finish.

Tomatoes.

Toss tomatoes in a bowl with all the ingredients, tip into an oven proof pan then put in a very hot oven until they start to colour and shrivel. Shake pan occasionally during roasting to ensure they turn over.

Hake.

Dredge hake in flour and place fish skin side down in frying pan in which you have meted the butter. Cook on a medium heat until the flesh starts to colour, turn over gently, the fish not you, sprinkle with lemon juice, seasoning  and parsley, continue to cook for another 2 minutes. Test with a cocktail stick to make sure it’s ready but do not overcook. Turn heat up full for 30 seconds to crisp the skin.

Plate up.

Put a good sized dollop of mash in a mound on the centre of your plate. Arrange the hake in a criss cross on top of the potatoes. Place the tomatoes round the mash and spoon a little of their cooking juices on them. Finally, drizzle some pesto  gently over the fish.

Get yer gums round that lot.