No, seriously. I am really bad at cooking fish. Like atrociously bad. It is either under cooked, or jerky. One of the two. That is why I was surprised to find how easy hake fish was to cook. (Okay so the bag doesn't say "Hake Fish" it says "Pacific Whiting." Whatever, people. It's hake. Just like canola oil is actually rapeseed oil and canned "tuna" is horse mackerel. Yes, horse mackerel. Deal with it.) The secret to my success? Broiling! Six months ago I was making gooey swai and tacky salmon- tacky as in when you chew it- but now! Voila!
Perfectly tender, juicy sweet hake on a bed of wilted romaine smothered in a sweet orange butter sauce and sauteed onions. Oh my gosh my mouth is watering at the memory. Also, not to pat my own back but when I showed my mother-in-law this photo she said "Oh! Where did you guys go to dinner?" *shines nails on shirt* I felt pretty cool.
Broiled Hake with Sweet Orange Butter Sauce
- 1 fillet of hake per person, thawed
- 1/2 onion per person, thinly sliced
- 1/2 heart romaine per person, cut bite size
- 1-2 large navel oranges, cut into wedges
- salt and pepper
Sauce*:
- 4 tbsp butter
- 2 tbsp spicy brown mustard
- zest of 1/2 orange
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- salt and pepper to taste
Schfirst. Ve need to make ze sauce. (Which I maybe should have listed first? Oh well.) Melt the butter in a small sauce pan but don't let it brown. Then add everything else and let it sit there on low until you're ready to serve the fish. Turn on your broiler to ...? High? My broiler only has one setting so I guess do what you feel comfortable with. Next whack your onion in half, peel it and slice it thinly lengthwise- about 1/8th inch slices. Heat a saute pan with a little oil to a medium high. Saute away. Mmm delicious! Get them as brown as you want them because we all know that brown things taste good. Set aside. Now is the time to pan up your hake, douse with a little salt and pepper and shove it under the broiler! Set a timer for about 4-6 minutes depending on the thickness of your fillets. Now, quickly heat up that saute pan again to a medium high heat and add more oil. Once the pan is hot add your lettuce and wilt it for about a minute. Put that on some plates! Good! Once your hake timer goes off check to make sure it is cooked through. Is it? Great. Use a stiff spatula to transfer the fish on top of the lettuce. Add the onions to the plate and carefully spoon butter sauce over the whole lot. Garnish with orange wedges and enjoy!
*It is amazingly better if you can make the sauce ahead of time by at least 24 hours to let the flavors meld and get all dreamy. Also, if you have more than three people, you might want to consider doubling the sauce.
