Hake is such a versatile fish, it literally goes with any spices and flavours. I decided to coat the fish with smoked paprika, course sea salt, dried parsley and lemon zest. The paprika gives the fish the most gorgeous colouring. I paired the fish with red onion and tomato salsa with turmeric rice. I was given a rice cube as a present and I finally got to use it 🙂

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INGREDIENTS

4 x 175g hake fillets, skin off and boned, room temperature
2 tbsp smoked paprika
2 tbsp dried parsley
1 tbsp lemon zest
Course sea salt
Olive oil
2 tbsp pine nuts
2 lemons

For the salsa:

1 red onion, finely chopped
2 large firm tomatoes, chopped
½ tbsp xylitol/sugar
large pinch of sea salt
Black pepper
Juice of ½ a lemon
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

For the turmeric rice:

1 cup basmati rice, rinsed
1.5 cups chicken stock
1 tbsp ground turmeric
1 tsp olive oil
Large pinch of sea salt

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METHOD
Serves 4
Preparation 15 minutes
Cooking time 15 minutes

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Boil the kettle and rinse the rice.

Place a small pot on high heat, add the rice, olive oil, turmeric and fry for 1 minute. Then add the stock, stir and cover. Once the rice starts boiling turn the heat right down and simmer for 15 minutes, without lifting the lid.

Cover the fish with the paprika, parsley, salt and zest.

Place the sugar, olive oil, lemon juice and a lot of ground pepper into a bowl, then add the chopped onion and tomato and mix. Set aside.

Once the rice has finished simmering, turn the heat off and steam for another 15 minutes, don’t lift the lid.

Place a small frying pan on high heat and toast the pine nuts- keep a close eye on them.

Place a large non-stick frying pan on high heat, add 2 tbsp of olive oil. Once the oil has heated up, fry 2 pieces of fish at a time. Fry for about 5 minutes on one side, until you see the fish turning opaque, flip over and fry for 3 minutes, until flakey. Cooking time depends on the thickness of the fillets.

Add the chopped herbs to the salsa.

Now you’re ready to serve. Squeeze lemon juice over the fish and sprinkle the pine nuts over the salsa.

You can either serve the fish separately from the rice and salsa or you can break the fish up and mix everything together 😉