The lemon adds a particularly lovely tang to this fish dish. Pan-fried hake with chickpeas, tomatoes and paprika with a lemon-cider butter is a wonderful lunch or dinner dish, especially on a light summer day.
Recipe by Nomvuselelo Mncube
Photograph by Dylan Swart
Pan-fried hake with chickpeas, tomatoes and paprika with a lemon-cider butter
Ingredients
Pan-fried hake
- 30ml (2 tbsp) olive oil
- 30g butter
- 800g hake fillets
- salt and freshly ground black
- pepper, to taste
Chickpeas
- 30ml (2 tbsp) Westfalia Avocado
- Oil Garlic-flavoured infusion/olive oil
- 3 shallots, peeled and cut into wedges
- 400g chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 5ml (1 tsp) paprika
- 1 bunch vine tomatoes, drizzled with
- olive oil, seasoned to taste and
- baked in a 180˚C oven for 15 minutes
- 125ml (½ cup) white wine
- 1 lemon, cut into wedges
- handful fresh coriander leaves,
- roughly chopped + extra, to garnish
- small handful fennel leaves
Lemon-cider butter
- small handful fennel, finely chopped
- juice of ½ lemon
- 80g butter, softened
- 30ml (2 tbsp) cider
- lemon wedges, to serve
Instructions
For the hake, heat the olive oil in a pan over medium-high heat. Add the butter and fish and fry until brown and cooked through, about 4 minutes on each side.
For the chickpeas, add the oil to a frying pan over medium heat and fry the shallots, 5 minutes. Add the chickpeas, paprika and some of the tomatoes (leave a couple on the vine as a garnish) and fry, 3 minutes. Add the wine and lemon wedges, reduce the heat to low and simmer, 10 minutes. Remove from heat, add the coriander and fennel leaves and season well. Set aside until needed.
For the cider butter, beat the fennel and lemon juice into the softened butter, then gradually beat in the cider until fully incorporated.
To assemble the dish, place the chickpeas on plates. Top with the fish fillets and serve with the lemon-cider butter on the side and lemon wedges for squeezing. Garnish with the remaining roasted vine tomatoes and fresh coriander leaves.
