Hake is among the most inexpensive species of fish, and many hostesses in the store bypass it. The thing is that when defrosting a fillet of hake looks clumsy, and the taste is unlikely someone will like it. For the whole carcass, only experienced housewives are at risk of buying them, who are not afraid to spend the time trying to cut it. This product is usually subjected to shock freezing, in which its structure is not disturbed, it allows you to preserve the juiciness of the fish and its beneficial properties. In terms of nutritional value and taste, it is almost as good as cod, the task is only to prepare it correctly. Hake stewed with vegetables is just that dish that will appeal to all households and will cost absolutely cheap. This dinner will benefit your health and family wallet.
Cooking Features
You already know one secret of tasty stewed hake: to buy carcasses cooled by the method of shock freezing, and not fillets, which are unknown how many times they were frozen and thawed. There are other subtleties that allow you to extinguish this fish with vegetables so that its taste will exceed your expectations.
- When buying fish, pay attention to its shelf life and packaging. The fresher it is, the better. If the shelf life of the product is about to expire, it is better to refrain from buying, even if the store offers a fantastic discount.
- Incorrect defrosting and properly frozen fish will turn into dry and tasteless. To prevent this from happening, let the hake carcass thaw in the refrigerator and then stand for a while at room temperature. If it is possible to avoid temperature drops, the structure of the product will not significantly suffer, it will remain juicy and tender.
- If you do not have the skills of cutting fish, then the fillet of a hake when it is separated from the bones is unlikely to be complete and even. There is no trouble in this: when stewing, vegetables will mask small flaws, and these errors will not affect the taste of the dish at all. Traditional recipes suggest stewing a hake with slices of vegetables, in this case there will be no difficulty even for an inexperienced hostess.
- The dish will be tastier if the hake is marinated before cooking. Usually for this they use lemon juice, less often - apple cider vinegar. Sometimes they simply rub the carcass or fillet pieces with spices and herbs. Marinated fish quickly, usually enough for 20-30 minutes.
- The hake stewed with vegetables will taste better if you fry it before, but if you refuse this procedure, the dish will be dietary and more useful.
The general principles for preparing a hake stewed with vegetables are identical, so it’s enough to know a couple of recipes to make this dish from any set of vegetables. But there are options so popular that they become classics. At first, preference is given to them.
A classic recipe for a hake stewed with vegetables
Composition:
- hake (carcass) - 1 kg;
- tomatoes - 0.5 kg;
- onions - 0, 35 kg;
- carrots - 0, 35 kg;
- sugar - 10 g;
- lemon - 1 pc .;
- salt, pepper - to taste;
- bay leaf - 2 pcs .;
- carnation - 4 pcs .;
- dried marjoram - 10 g;
- dried parsley - 20 g;
- allspice - 4 pcs .;
- flour, vegetable oil - as required.
Method of preparation:
- Thaw frost hake carcasses. Wash and dry them. Clean, remove fins and tail. Cut into portions about 2-3 cm thick, leave the tail section longer.
- Squeeze the juice out of the lemon and process the pieces of the hake with it. Leave for 20 minutes.
- Sift flour (there will be enough glass), mix it with salt, pepper, dried marjoram and parsley.
- Heat the oil in a pan.
- Breast the pieces of the hake in the flour with the spices, put them in the pan, lightly browse over medium heat.
- Wash tomatoes, make a cross-cut on them. Dip for 2-3 minutes in boiling water. When the skin begins to peel off, remove the tomatoes from the boiling water and briefly shift them into the cold, so that they quickly cool down. Clean up. Cut into 4 pieces, cut the seal in the region of the stem. Pulp blender smash to a state of mashed potatoes.
- Onions, peeled, cut into small cubes.
- Carrot clean, rub, using the side with large holes.
- Heat a new batch of butter in a clean pan, put onions in it and fry until transparent.
- Add the carrots and continue to fry for 5 minutes.
- Tomato puree mixed with a small amount of salt and pepper, pour it into the pan.
- Add cloves, allspice and bay leaves. Stew vegetables for 10 minutes.
- Divide the vegetable mass in half.
- Place half of the vegetables on the bottom of a cauldron or a thick-bottomed pan.
- Top with the pieces of toasted hake.
- Cover the fish with the remaining vegetables.
- Pour 50 ml of water.
- Place in a preheated 180 degree oven for 25 minutes.
Hake stewed with vegetables according to the classic recipe is tender and juicy, its flesh is easily separated from the bones. Serve this dish to the table can be hot or as a cold snack. In the latter case, it is laid out on plates and cleaned for an hour in the refrigerator. Garnish to this dish is not required, but it is not forbidden to supplement it with rice or potatoes. If you are preparing a dish for children or for a festive table, it is better to first cut the hake into fillets, and then cut it into pieces and cook as described in the recipe.
The diet version of the dish will also be delicious. Refuse from roasting fish and vegetables, and the calorie content of the dish will significantly decrease, its benefits will increase.
The classic recipe can be simplified by replacing the tomatoes with tomato paste. For a specified number of ingredients you will need two tablespoons of pasta, which must be diluted in half a glass of water. This option is also considered traditional.
Hake stewed with onions, carrots and bell peppers
Composition:
- fresh-frozen (carcass) hake - 1 kg;
- onions - 0, 2 kg;
- carrots - 0, 5 kg;
- tomatoes - 0, 6 kg;
- Bulgarian pepper - 0, 25 kg;
- vegetable oil - 100 ml;
- sour cream - 50 ml;
- salt, pepper, coriander - to taste;
- lemon - 1 pc.
Method of preparation:
- Hake, having defrosted, wash and dry. Cut into fillets. Cut the fillets into small pieces about 2 cm thick. Pieces that are closer to the tail can be made larger.
- Marinate in juice squeezed from lemon for 20 minutes.
- Peel the carrots. Crush it grated for cooking Korean salads. If you do not have such a device, then coarsely grate the vegetable on a regular grater or cut it into thin strips with a knife or vegetable peeler (the latter is preferred).
- Pepper wash. Cut the stalk, remove the seeds and membranes. Cut the flesh of pepper into thin straws.
- Bulbs free from husks. Cut one small onion in half and set aside. Cut the remaining onion into thin half-rings.
- Boil the tomatoes and peel. Cut the seal near the stem. Cut into slices.
- Stir vegetables.
- Pour half the vegetable oil into the cauldron, put half the vegetables in it.
- Place the fillet on the vegetables, cover with the remaining vegetables. Salt, pepper, sprinkle with coriander powder each layer.
- Put the cauldron on a quiet fire and simmer the vegetables with fish for 20 minutes.
- Add the remaining oil, put the onion on top. Pour half a glass of water. Simmer for 20 more minutes.
- Remove the onion, add the sour cream and mix everything carefully.
- Hold on fire for another 5 minutes, after which the dish can be laid out on plates and served to the table.
In the best way, a hake stewed with vegetables is combined with rice or potato side dishes. To him you can also apply pasta, buckwheat, crumbly millet porridge, boiled in water. If desired, you can do without a side dish. A hot dish is tastier, but the option of using it as a cold snack is also acceptable.
Hake stewed with vegetables is a tasty and easy to prepare dish. It costs inexpensive, but has a high nutritional value. It can be served both hot and cold.
