Recipe: Cornish Hake and Clotted Cream

Hake is the perfect fish for Autumn as it’s sustainable and price is right at this time of year. When buying your hake ask your fishmonger to cut darnes which are cuts across the fillet through the bone as they work much better in this recipe. It’s a white flaky fish and to get the best flake sprinkle it with rock salt and leave it for 2 hours before washing it off and pan frying. Another good tip is to use really good chicken stock, its perfect with hake because it has a sweeter, more neutral flavour than fish stock so it doesn’t over power the hake – Neil Haydock, Executive Chef, Watergate Bay

Pan fried Cornish hake with Rodda’s clotted cream and cider sauce

Serves 4 - Ingredients

• 4 darnes of hake 3cm thick (steak cut across the bone)
• 400g of picked and washed spinach
• 100g chives finely cut
• 100g unsalted butter
• Flour for dusting
• Salt and pepper
• 100ml vegetable oil
• 50g peeled and sliced shallot
• 200ml of dry cider
• 100ml of apple juice
• 200ml of fish or chicken stock - I find chicken stock works well with fish as it's light in flavour and doesn’t overpower the fish
• 200g of Rodda’s clotted cream.

Method

To make the sauce place the shallots, cider, apple juice and stock into a pan and reduce down by 2/3rds before adding the cream and bringing back to a boil. Remove from the heat when it coats the back of a spoon. Season with a little salt as required. Lightly flour and season the Hake and place into a medium hot non stick frying pan with the vegetable oil and cook for 3 minutes before turning with a wide spatula. Cook for a further 3 minutes before adding 50g of butter and basting the fish for a further 30 seconds. Remove from the pan and keep warm. Wipe the pan clean and place back on the heat and add the remaining 50g of butter. When the butter is sizzling and melted add the spinach, season with salt and pepper and stir until wilted. Remove from the pan and drain in a colander. Place the spinach in the middle of each plate and top with the hake. Re-heat the sauce and add the chopped chives before pouring over the hake and serving.