Hake, blackened king prawn noodles and beurre blanc
Hey there, how is everything going? November arrived with some gorgeous days. I love walking on the beach when the tide is out and I am not the only one enjoying it.
This one runs and runs until she is wet and almost covered in sand, then it is time to run some more! I wish I was as keen on running.
This is always followed by a long nap on the sofa, in the sun if possible.
If we do it on a Sunday I usually have time to enjoy some chill out time with my little babe before cooking dinner.
I was in the mood for seafood so I went to Jenkins & Son Fishmonger to see what they had. I have noticed a re appearing pattern, I love cod and our conversation usually goes something like this
Me “How is the cod today?”
Fishmonger Darren “Why don’t you have the hake?”
I realized we do this almost every time, and I always come away with hake. Darren is of course right, hake is a delicate, delicious and sustainable fish that sometimes is underrated and perhaps under appreciated.
In the end, and again, I came away with hake and fresh king prawns. I wasn’t quite sure what to make but had no doubt I would figure it out.
As I was catching up on Masterchef Professionals, UK edition, I saw chef Marcus Waering make a chicken beurre blanc and this was playing on my mind. I decided it would be delicious with the hake. Here is a great link to a classic beaurre blanc.
The next question was what starch to have with the seafood. I did a roam around my cupboards and came up with one of my favorites, mung bean vermicelli.
I decided to use my latest product, Cajun seasoning for the prawns. I created it from memory of eating blackened prawns in New Orleans. It was many years ago but I still remember how delicious they were. This spice mix is the closest I have come to re creating the flavors.
Hake, Blacked Prawn, Chicken beaurre blanc, Mung bean vermicelli and Salmon roe
preparation time 15 minutes
cooking time 12 minutes
Oven 160C or 320F
serves 2
Ingredients
- 350 gr or 13.8 oz Hake fillet
- 4 fresh, or defrosted king prawns, or as many as you like
- Heatonomy Cajun seasoning
- salt
- rapeseed oil and butter for pan frying
Chicken beurre blanc
- 1 shallot onion, chopped fine
- 1 clove of garlic, crushed, skin on
- 1 sprig of thyme
- 1/2 dl or 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
- 2 dl chicken stock
- 150 gr or 6 oz cold, cubed butter
- Salt & ground white pepper to taste
- chives, chopped fine
- Salmon roe
Peel the prawns, I kept the tail and the heads on but peeled the rest and de veined them. I coated them with the Cajun spice on both sides and put aside until I was ready to cook them.
I checked the hake for bones, removed a few and cut it in to portion sized pieces. I salted the hake and left it uncovered in the fridge for about 20 minutes. I took it out to room temperature a few minutes before cooking it.
Heat butter and rapeseed oil in a frying pan and wait until it is hot. Place the hake in the pan, skin side down and let it brown.
Turn the hake over after a couple of minutes and place the pan in the oven for about 10 minutes.
Whilst the fish is cooking make the beurre blanc. This is a recipe that is adapted to what I had at home and it worked out delicious.
Soften the chopped onion in butter but don’t let them brown.
Add the vinegar and let it cook down to almost dry. Add the chicken stock and reduce by half or two thirds. Turn the heat down and add the butter, a little at the time whilst whisking. Add more butter if the sauce isn’t thick enough.
Taste the sauce with salt and ground white pepper.
Cook the mungbean vermicelli and pan fry the prawns.
Take the hake out of the oven and let it rest for a few minutes.
Add chives to the sauce, plate up and serve with the salmon roe.
The dish was delicious, light and full of flavor, I could taste the chicken in the beurre blanc and it all worked so well together I know I will have to make it again. I am so glad that Darren convinced me to get the hake.
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