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Title: Hake Stuffed With Prawns And Lemon Balm
Yield: 4

Ingredients

      1    hake weighing around 1 kg;
           -cleaned, olive oil
      1    salt and pepper
      6    generous stems of lemon
           -balm; complete with
      1    ; plenty of leaves
 
  ------------------------FOR THE STUFFING------------------------------
      4    shallots; chopped
      1 tb olive oil
     45 g  butter
    150 g  shelled raw prawns; each one
           - cut into 2
      1    ; or 3 pieces, if
      1    ; large
      1    a generous handful of lemon
           -balm le; aves
      1    salt and pepper
 
  --------------------------FOR THE SAUCE-------------------------------
      2    shallots; finely chopped
      4 tb olive oil
     30 g  butter
      1    a generous handful of lemon
           -balm le; aves
      3    hard boiled egg yolks
      3 tb chopped parsley
      1 ts dijon mustard
      1 tb capers or caper berries;
           -rinsed and soaked
      1    ; if salted, chopped
      1 tb red wine vinegar
      1    salt and pepper

Instructions

Preheat oven to 220c/425f/Gas 7.

1 Rub a few spoonfuls of olive oil over the hake and season. Make a bed
of the lemon balm stems in a roasting tin or large ovenproof dish.

2 For the Stuffing: Saute the shallots in oil and butter until tender and
translucent. Add the prawns and saute for two minutes until barely cooked
through.

3 Stir in the whole lemon balm leaves, cook for a few seconds until wilted
and draw the pan off the heat. Fill the cavity of the fish with the
prawns, lemon balm and about half the shallots.

4 Carefully add the fish to the bed of stems, (seal the cavity with
cocktail sticks to stop the stuffing falling out). Spoon over the
remaining shallot and buttery sauce from the pan. Roast for 20 minutes
until cooked through.

5 For the Sauce: Fry the shallots in 1 tbsp olive oil and all the butter
until tender and translucent. Stir in the lemon balm until just wilted.
Draw off the heat and tip into a bowl.

6 Pound the yolks and parsley with a pestle and mortar (or in a sturdy
bowl with a rolling pin) until well mixed. Add to the shallots and lemon
balm.

7 Stir in the mustard, capers, vinegar and remaining oil for a creamy
sauce. Season, adjust the balance of the flavourings, adding vinegar if
needed and serve with the hake. For a smooth sauce, don't pound. Process
the lemon balm, shallots and other ingredients.

Converted by MC_Buster.

Recipe by: Sophie Grigson's Herbs

Converted by MM_Buster v2.0l.

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