Baked hake, Savoy cabbage, pickled ginger butter

Serves: 4
Course: Main Course
Cooking Time: 0 hr 30 mins
Ingredients
  • 4-6 leaves of Savoy cabbage, trimmed and washed
  • 4 spring onions, trimmed
  • A drizzle of olive oil
  • 4 hake fillets (180g each) bone out, skin on
  • 2tbs crème fraîche or natural yogurt
  • Salt and black pepper
  •  
  • FOR THE BUTTER:
  • 100ml apple juice
  • 150g cold butter, diced
  • Sprig of rosemary
  • 25g pickled ginger, roughly chopped

1 Set the oven to 185 degrees

2 Bring a pot of salted water to the boil, then cook the cabbage and spring onions until tender but still green. About two minutes should do it.

3 Drain and sit the vegetables in iced water until cool; this stops the cooking process and retains the colour.

4 Drain and dry on some kitchen paper.

5 Brush the base of a grill tray with a little olive oil, then sit the hake on it, top skin side down.

6 Brush the fish with a layer of crème fraîche, drizzle the top with a little more olive oil and then season.

7 Bake for 10-12 minutes, depending on the thickness of the fish. Don’t be afraid to take a small knife to gently prize the fish apart to see if it’s cooked.

8 Meanwhile, to make the sauce, bring the apple juice to a simmer in a small pan.

9 Whisk the butter in bit by bit over a gentle heat, then add the rosemary. When all the butter is amalgamated, add the ginger and remove the rosemary and keep it warm.

10 When the fish is nearly cooked, add the cabbage and spring onions to the tray along with a little more olive oil, salt and pepper.

11 Turn them in the oil and cooking juices to make sure they are coated, then put them back in the oven to heat for just a minute.

12 To serve, carefully lift the fish off the tray on to warm plates. Arrange the cabbage and spring onions alongside, then spoon over the sauce. Eat with boiled potatoes.

Paul Flynn

Paul Flynn

Paul Flynn is a chef, restaurateur and contributor to The Irish Times. He and his wife, Máire, run the Tannery restaurant and cookery school in Dungarvan, Co Waterford