Hake baked with a herb crust and served with caramelised tomatoes
 

The combination of herbs, butter and garlic impart to the hake a lovely flavour.  The tomatoes provide a pleasant contrast.  If hake is not available, cod or haddock can be used as an alternative.

Preparation Time: 25 Mins

Cooking Time: 90 Mins

Total Time: 2 Hrs

Ingredients

For 4 servings…

4 cloves           Garlic  - unpeeled     

4                    Hake  - steaks         

3 tbs               Olive oil    

                      Pepper      

                      Salt          

For the caramelised tomatoes

10                  Basil leaves  - chopped

1 clove            Garlic  - sliced finely  

1½ tbs            Olive oil    

                      Pepper      

                      Salt          

1 pinch            Sugar  - caster        

4                    Tomatoes  - cut into halves     

For the herb crust

2                    Basil leaves  - chopped

100 gms          Bread  - crusts removed         

200 gms          Butter  - softened     

2 sprigs           Chervil  - chopped    

10 gms            Parsley  - chopped    

                      Pepper      

                      Salt          

2                    Shallots  - chopped very finely  

2 sprigs           Tarragon  - chopped 

To garnish

                      Herbs       

Method

To make the caramelised tomatoes…

Preheat the oven to 110°C.   Put the tomato halves in an ovenproof dish and coat them with olive oil.  Sprinkle them with pepper, sugar, garlic, salt and basil.  Bake in an oven for about 90 minutes until they are caramelised and bubbling.

To make the herb crust…

Put the bread in a low oven at 120°C and bake until it breaks up easily into small dry crumbs (about 30 minutes).  Put the crumbs into a bowl and add the butter, herbs and shallots.  Season with salt and pepper and mix well together.

Spread the herb crust out on a flat baking tray (about 3mm thick) and put in the fridge to solidify. When it is hard enough, cut it into four rectangles, similar to the size of the fish steaks.

To cook the hake…

Preheat an oven to 180°C.

Cover each steak with a rectangle of the herb crust.

In a pan, heat the olive oil and gently fry the garlic cloves.  Cut each clove into four (discarding the skin) and insert them into the crust on the hake steaks. 

Season the steaks, put them in a flat ovenproof dish with a sprinkling of olive oil and place the dish in the oven for 20 minutes.  At the end of that time, take them out of the oven and put them under a hot grill to brown. 

Garnish with herbs and serve with the tomatoes.

Wine recommendations

Conventional

     Mâcon

Interesting

     Jurançon sec

     Muscadet Sèvre et Maine Sur lie

     Pinot Gris

Special

     Pernand-Vergelesses blanc