Baked hake with chilli and clementine butter
INGREDIENTS
Serves 4
- 500g brussel sprouts
- 1 large fennel bulb
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tsp Halen Môn Pure Sea Salt in a Finer Flake
- 1 tsp freshly cracked black pepper
- 4x hake / white fish fillets or one large fillet. Suggest approx 150-200g per person
- 2 clementines
- 80g butter
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 green chilli, seeds removed and finely diced
- Small bunch of coriander, leaves picked and chopped
This dish is fresh and vibrant and comes together quickly with very little cooking time, the perfect antidote to all the December cooking. The shredded sprouts and fennel underneath the fish become soft and buttery and take on all the flavour from the fish cooking on top. Sprouts are still on the supermarket shelves and fill our veg boxes right now so are certainly not just for Christmas.
Any white fish will work here, but hake is a sustainable choice and the firmer texture works well. You can either bake portions per person or if you are buying from the fishmonger ask for one large fillet. It’s also worth asking your fishmonger which white fish to use depending on which is freshest that day as this recipe will work with any white fish, the fresher the better.
Fish cooks extremely quickly so it’s worth checking after 15 minutes in the oven.
METHOD
- Preheat the oven to 180c fan/ gas 6
- Start by shredding the sprouts and the fennel, a mandolin is helpful here. In a baking dish large enough for the fish to be added to later, spread the sprouts and fennel out with 2 tbsp of oil and 1 tsp of salt.Mix well before roasting in the oven for 15 minutes.
- Place the fish on top of the vegetables, season with the remaining 1 tsp salt, the black pepper and drizzle with the remaining oil. Finely slice one of the clementines and add the rounds to the top of the fish. Add the tray back into the oven. Meanwhile prepare the chilli butter by melting the butter in a small pan, add the garlic, finely chopped chilli, coriander and the zest and juice of the final clementine.
- Check the fish after 15 minutes, finding the thickest part of the fillet and checking it looks cooked through and flaky. Once cooked, remove from the oven and pour over the chilli butter.
- Serve right away with boiled or roasted potatoes.
Recipe by Elly Kemp
