The perfect fish supper - Peas, ham and Hake in a sweet vermouth butter sauce

After a trip to my local fishmonger provided a beautiful fresh hake fillet I knew I had to come up with something a little special to justify the purchase. My next stop was the greengrocers to discover the fresh British garden peas that they had in stock, I knew then I had to go to the butcher 2 doors down for some pancetta and this is what I ended up with. Pan fried Hake with a rich, creamy, butter filled mash, garden and sugar snap peas with roasted pancetta and a noily prat butter sauce.

4 x 140g hake fillet

700g peeled rooster potatoes

100ml single cream

120g butter

200g peas

200g sugar snap peas

150g pancetta

200ml noily prat (sweet vermouth)

1 banana shallot

First place your potatoes in salted water and bring to the boil, alow to simmer for 20 minutes. Blanch the sugar snaps and peas in boiling water for 3 minutes and refresh them under cold water. Fry off the pancetta and add in the shallots, deglaze the pan with the vermouth and set the pan to one side. Pan fry the hake for 4 minutes skin side down then turn and cook for a further 90 seconds. Place the potatoes through a ricer and add in the cream and half of the butter, mix over a low heat and season to taste. Bring the vermouth to boil, reduce by half and add in the rest of the butter. Allow the butter to melt into the sauce and add the peas for 90 seconds. Finish the sauce with a little salt and pepper along with a small amount of chopped parsley and serve

#seafood #fish #hake #peas #maincourse