This is a very pretty and tasty dish of roasted hake wrapped in prosciutto or Serrano ham served over minted pea puree with tomato vinaigrette and garnish. An optional flavour boost, is to add chopped sage over the fish and under the ham. Salting the hake first and leaving it for a few minutes, firms its cod-similar but softer, creamy flesh. Scale up the ingredients in proportion to make it for less or more.
Serves 4
Prep: 20 min
Cook: 25 min
4 hake fillets
1 tbsp salt
400g frozen petits pois
2 tbsp crème fraiche, soured or thick cream
1 tsp English mint sauce
2 vine tomatoes
2 tbsp best olive oil
8 slices Prosciutto or Serrano ham
4 flourishing sage leaves, optional
1 tbsp olive oil
small bunch chives or few sprigs flat leaf parsley
Heat the oven to 220C/gas mark 7. Lavishly salt the fish. Set aside for 15 minutes. Boil the peas in salted water until tender. Drain the boiling water over the tomatoes in a bowl and leave for 40 seconds. Add drained peas to the food processor bowl. Add crème fraiche and mint. Blitz for several minutes until smooth. Season to taste with salt and pepper, transfer to a small saucepan to reheat at the last moment. Cut the core out of the tomatoes in a pointed plug shape. Quarter the toms lengthways, push away the skin and scrape pips etc into a sieve over a bowl. Press hard on the pips to extract juice. Whisk in 2 tbsp best olive oil. Dice the flesh. Rinse the fish and pat dry. If including sage, chop finely, discarding the stalk. Smear a small roasting tin with olive oil. Working on one fillet of hake at a time, line up 2 slices of ham, scatter some of the sage over one side of the fish and place, sage side down on the ham. Wrap, leaving ends of fish exposed. Place in the pan. Smear with olive oil. Roast for 10-15 minutes until the ham is crusty, the fish cooked through. Serve over pea puree (hot, warm or cold), surround by diced toms and sprinkling of finely snipped chives or chopped parsley. Add a circle of vinaigrette.