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Galician-style hake
Dolphin Recipes
Galician- style hake is one of Galicia's most typical dishes, but not everyone knows how to give it its characteristic traditional flavor. Want to learn how? Check out this recipe!
There's nothing better than a good plate of this white fish , Galician-style hake, and anyone who has tried this wonderful recipe knows it.
Today's Galician-style hake recipe has everything you need to be a success: quality ingredients and simple preparation.
Below, we explain how to prepare Galician-style hake in just a few steps and with spectacular flavor.
Is it better to use slices or loins of hake?
Before we begin preparing the dish, there's a question that always comes to mind when we're making a hake stew.
Should you use hake slices or fillets? In most cases it doesn't matter and the flavor won't change; it depends on personal taste and how easily you can work with each product.
The traditional recipe for Galician-style hake uses slices of hake, but as we mentioned, it's not strictly necessary to make a good dish.
To demonstrate this, in this recipe we'll be using Delfín's raw hake fillets . We recommend defrosting them overnight in the refrigerator, then at room temperature for about half an hour before cooking.
Traditional Galician-style hake recipe
Ingredients for people 4
- 4 raw skinless hake loins
- 1 medium onion
- 3 medium potatoes
- 3 cloves of garlic
- 150 g guisantes
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Gorda
- 2 Bay leaves
- 1 teaspoon paprika sweet
- A pinch of black pepper
Elaboration step by step
- If we use frozen hake, it should be already defrosted since the night before, or at least 7 or 8 hours beforehand. If this isn't the case, we can try defrosting it by immersing it in cold water for 15 minutes.
- We begin this Galician-style hake recipe by preparing the vegetables. Peel and slice the onion and potatoes. The potatoes should be sliced approximately 1 cm thick.
- In a pot, add the potatoes, onion, bay leaf, a pinch of salt and black pepper, and enough water to cover all the vegetables. Let them cook over high heat while you continue preparing the dish.
- Wash and drain the hake. Add the hake and peas to the pot when the potatoes are easy to pierce. Let them cook for about 5 minutes over medium-high heat.
- Meanwhile, we heat a large frying pan with a generous splash of extra virgin olive oil. We use roughly the amount of a quarter of a typical coffee cup.
- Peel and slice the garlic and add it to the hot oil. When the garlic has browned, remove the pan from the heat and add the paprika.
- Drain the excess broth from the pot and add the garlic and paprika mixture. Mix everything well and serve before it cools.
Tips for a perfect recipe
As with all fish recipes, a good product is the basis for achieving a good flavor and a good texture.
But in this case, we recommend that both the hake and the paprika be of high quality; they are the foundation for such a special and powerful flavor.
One tip to keep the peas from falling apart is to add them along with the hake, as we've done in the recipe. However, this only applies to frozen and canned peas; fresh peas will require a little more cooking. They should be added after the potatoes and before the hake.
When sautéing garlic and paprika, be careful not to burn them, as they can make the food bitter. Once the garlic is golden, remove the pan from the heat and add the paprika. The heat from the pan will finish cooking it.
Finally, be careful with the broth in the stew itself. This step depends on each person; some prefer to save all the broth for other recipes, while others, or as this recipe suggests, discard the excess, but leave some of the cooking water.
In our case , we prefer Galician-style hake that is more brothy and stew-like , but if it is going to be served warm or more like a sauce, it is advisable to remove all the excess water from the cooking process.
How to make Galician-style hake in the oven
We've previously prepared Galician-style hake without an oven, but one of the most popular variations is using one.
We will use the same ingredients, the same quantities, and almost the same procedure.
First, peel and slice the vegetables. The potatoes should be finely sliced. It's recommended to use a mandolin to ensure they're all the same thickness.
Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F). Place the potatoes, onion, and hake on a baking tray. Season with salt and pepper to taste and bake at the same temperature for 25 minutes.
This is an approximate time; it's best to check that it doesn't burn and that the fish is cooked correctly.
When it's almost time to remove the tray from the oven, heat a pan with extra virgin olive oil and sauté the garlic until golden. Remove from the heat and add the paprika and stir in. This procedure is the same as when preparing Galician-style hake without an oven.
Finally, add the garlic and paprika mixture spread over the hake, and it's ready to eat.
Sometimes potatoes and even hake are briefly fried and then baked.
Other recipes with hake
Recipe for Hake with Mushroom Sauce
