Baked hake fillet served with romesco sauce & sautéed sugar snap peas & capers, may sound fancy & difficult but this recipe is easy-peasy.
The no-cook sauce and the fish taking under 10 minutes to cook means that this dish is a sub-30 minute wonder. A perfect dish for a date night or a dinner party!
Roasted Hake with Romesco Sauce
I adore cooking with fish, it has a reputation amongst some as being tricky to cook, but with a bit of planning and a bit of discipline, nothing could be further from the truth.
I usually favour pan-frying fish, but dishes like my pan fried hake, pan fried skate wings and pan fried halibut all require a bit of precision and your full attention.
This recipe for baked hake is pretty much foolproof, and it comes with a no-cook romesco sauce and some quickly sautéed sugar snap peas and capers.
The romesco sauce can be made in advance, it is a delicious Spanish sauce/dip that often accompanies fish. My version uses jarred roasted peppers, sun-dried tomatoes, hazelnuts, almonds, smoked paprika, sherry vinegar and lots of lovely olive oil.
I love it served with my fried breaded calamari!
All you need to do with the hake is score it, season it and throw it in the oven for 7-10 minutes depending on how thick it is.
That’s it, seriously! You can make it even better by sliding it under a hot grill, but hey, it’s still very simple.
That means getting those sugar snap peas and capers just right is a breeze… and just look how pretty it looks!
It is a perfect date night or dinner party meal and it is bound to impress!
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I use a different type of fish?
Yes, any meaty white fish would work well, but it needs to be a loin rather than a fillet, because it needs to be fatter to prevent it from overcooking in the oven.
Cod, haddock, coley or pollock would all work wonderfully well, and cod with romesco sauce is a very well-trodden path.
I use hake with this recipe because it is half of the price of cod.
Does hake have a different name?
Yes, if you are from the US or Canada you will know hake as whiting.
Can I make this in advance?
The fish needs to be cooked and eaten immediately and the sugar snap peas are much the same.
However, the romesco sauce can be made up to a week in advance. It should be stored in an air-tight container in the fridge.
I always make a little extra romesco sauce because it is a great dip and I love serving it with cheese on toast for lunch!
Serving Suggestions
Your main choice of sides for this baked or roasted hake recipe is with the greens.
I have a garlic green beans amandine recipe with almonds that would mirror the romesco sauce perfectly.
If you wanted something frighteningly simple, some roasted tenderstem broccoli would work a treat. As a bonus you can throw it in with the fish, which makes this dinner even easier!
I do like to serve this recipe with potatoes too, it is a little less elegant though.
But dipping Parmentier potatoes or some fried new potatoes into that wonderful romesco sauce is magic!
Equipment Used
I only name-check brands of equipment if I think that they make a material difference to a recipe. But if you have any questions, feel free to ask them in the comments section below the recipe.
- Oven.
- Stovetop, only required if you are cooking the sugar snap peas.
- Toaster or some other device to toast the bread.
- Baking tray, large enough to hold the fish.
- Device for toasting the nuts, I use an air fryer, but you can use a frying pan on the stovetop or slide them in the oven.
- Baking parchment.
- 30cm or 12″ frying pan, only required if you are cooking the sugar snap peas.
- Weighing scales and or measuring cups and spoons.
- Mini blender.
- Kitchen knife and chopping board.
Baked Hake Fillet and Romesco Sauce Recipe
Fish is often thought of as hard to cook, but this baked hake fillet is pretty much foolproof, add a no-cook romesco sauce, some sautéed sugar snap peas and capers and you have a perfect sub 30-minute dish built to impress.
Ingredients
For the Baked Fish:
- 400g (14oz) Hake Fillets (2 in total)
- Pinch of Salt
- ½ Tbsp Olive Oil
- Pinch of Smoked Paprika to Dress
For the Romesco Sauce:
- 100g (½ Cup) Roasted Peppers from a jar
- 50g (¼ Cup) Sun Dried Tomatoes from a jar
- 2 Anchovy Fillets
- 50g (3-4 Tbsp) Mixed Almonds and Hazelnuts
- 1 Slice Bread
- 1 Tsp Smoked Paprika
- 1-2 Tsp Sherry Vinegar
- 5-6 Tbsp Olive Oil
- ¼-½ Tsp Salt
For the Sugar Snap Peas:
- 1 Tbsp Olive Oil
- 100g (1 Cup) Sugar Snap Peas
- 50g (¼ Cup) Capers
- Pinch Salt
Instructions
- Toast the hazelnuts in a pan, an air fryer or oven, until nicely golden. I do this in an air fryer, 7-8 minutes in a small tin at 180°C or 350°F works perfectly. Then place them in a mini blender.
- Toast the bread, remove the crusts, then roughly cut it up and add it to the mini blender.
- Peel the garlic cloves and toss them into the blender
- Add the jarred red peppers, sun-dried tomatoes, anchovy fillets, smoked paprika, sherry vinegar, olive oil and sherry vinegar and pulse to get a sauce. You can level it as chunky as you like.
- Ask your fishmonger to check that the hake has been pin boned, if not remove the bones.
- Make 4-5 shallow slashes across the skin of the fish to prevent it from tightening in the oven.
- Drizzle the fish with the olive oil and season it with salt, place it skin side up on a baking tray and pop it in a preheated oven at 200°C or 390°F for 7-9 minutes.
- If you want the skin to be a little crispier, remove the fish a minute early and crisp the skin under a hot grill (broiler) for a minute or so. Keep and eye on the baking parchment if you are sliding this under a grill.
- A couple of minutes after the fish has gone into the oven, heat a 30cm frying pan over a medium-high heat and add the olive oil for the peas.
- Once the oil is hot add the peas, season with a pinch of salt and sauté for 2 minutes.
- Add the capers and continue to sauté for another 2-3 minutes.
- By now the fish should be cooked, give it a little sprinkle of smoked paprika and serve.
- I start with a "pool" of thick romesco sauce, the hake then sprinkle around the sugar snap peas and capers, adding some of the capers and oil over the fish.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
2Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 946Total Fat: 70gSaturated Fat: 9gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 58gCholesterol: 135mgSodium: 2125mgCarbohydrates: 34gFiber: 9gSugar: 16gProtein: 53g
Calorific details are provided by a third-party application and are to be used as indicative figures only.