$$ · filleting, skinning, and trimming whole fish
Fillet a whole fish without wasting half of it
Following the bones and contours of whole fish with a narrow, flexible blade.
Victorinox Fibrox 8-Inch Flexible Fillet Knife
AI-generated illustration of the dish
Basque hake in green sauce: thick hake steaks gently cooked in olive oil, garlic, a little stock and a lot of parsley, while the pan is swirled until the juices from the fish thicken the sauce. Traditionally finished with clams. A classic of Spanish home cooking and of the Basque Country.
Serves 4Prep 15 minCook 20 min
Can't find Merluza?
- Bacalhau — Both are mild, white, flaky Atlantic fish from the cod family — hake is softer and more delicate, cod is firmer and thicker.
- Congrio — Both are Iberian stew and rice fish sold in thick cross-cut steaks — hake is softer and flakier, conger firmer and more gelatinous.
- Peixe-espada-preto — Both are soft, mild, white-fleshed fish sold as thin boneless fillets and suited to light frying — hake flakes in larger sheets, scabbardfish is finer and more delicate.
Ingredients & method
Ingredients
- 4 hake steaks (rodajas) or thick loin pieces, about 200 g each, skin on
- Salt
- 80 ml extra-virgin olive oil
- 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon plain flour
- 100 ml dry white wine (optional)
- 250 ml fish stock, warm
- A large bunch of flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped (about 4 tablespoons)
- 250 g fresh clams (almejas), purged in salted water for 30 minutes (optional)
- To serve: crusty bread for the sauce
Method
- 1Salt the hake on both sides and leave it while you start the sauce.
- 2Warm the oil in a wide, shallow pan (a clay cazuela is traditional) over low heat. Add the garlic and cook gently for 2 minutes, until fragrant but not coloured.
- 3Stir in the flour and cook 1 minute. Add the wine, if using, and let it bubble for a minute, then pour in the stock a little at a time, stirring, until you have a light, smooth sauce.
- 4Stir in most of the parsley. Lay the hake in the sauce, skin side up, and cook over low heat for 4 to 5 minutes, gently swirling the pan in circles the whole time. The gelatin from the skin is what thickens and binds the sauce.
- 5Turn the pieces, add the clams if using, and cook 3 to 5 minutes more, still swirling, until the clams open and the hake is just opaque at the bone. Discard any clams that stay shut.
- 6Taste the sauce for salt, add the rest of the parsley, and serve straight from the pan with bread.
Cook this well
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Chef's tip
Keep the heat low and keep the pan moving: boiling makes the hake fall apart and splits the sauce. Hake steaks with skin and bone give the best sauce. Cod (bacalao fresco) and haddock work too, though they are firmer and less delicate. Asparagus, peas and halved hard-boiled eggs are common additions.
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