Poor Man’s Hake Thermidor

This was inspired by the urge for a dish that sounded decadent – but wasn’t actually – on a random Monday night. The only real rule was that the evening begin with a French 75. A French 75 is a gin based drink that I have been dying to try for ages and it was well worth the wait. How to make one will be found under the heading…. Ginanigans. (Naturally) Anyway, so the thought of a poor man’s thermidor popped into my head on the way home and so I went for a quick shop.

I bought the following in this order:

1. Sliced brown mushrooms
2. Parsley
3. Onions
4. Lettuce
5. Tomatoes
6. Red and green peppers
7. Box of skin on frozen hake (7 pieces)
8. Small packet of garden peas
9. Cream (small tub)

At home I had the following which would feature:

1. Fish stock
2. Garlic
3. Green Chillies
4. Tin of cocktail shrimps
5. Fish rub
6. Butter
7. Herbs & Spices – Paprika, Dried Basil, Origanum, Salt, Pepper
8. Bottle of white wine (I had an old favourite, Casal Garcia, the balance of which was delicious with the meal)
9. Cheddar cheese

I went about it like this:

1. Chop 1/2 an onion finely and throw in a pot with a large chunk of butter
2. Chop 3 cloves of garlic finely and throw in with the onions
3. I didn’t do this but I would add a generous dash of brandy now
4. Once the onions are glazed throw in a mug of boiling water with fish stock mixed in
5. Finely chop a handful of parsley and toss it in the mix, keep stirring
6. Add salt and black pepper generously along with the dried herbs
7. Finely chop the mushrooms and throw in a man size handful
8. Keep it boiling for 20min and let it reduce then add the cream
9. Toss the peas in and stir
10. Keep stirring and when it returns to the boil add shrimps and a handful of grated cheese
11. Stir till mixed and set aside
12. Preheat the oven at 200C
13. Rub butter all over the baking dish and place the frozen fish skin down evenly spaced
14. Sprinkle dry rub all over with a few sprigs of dill then place on the rack and cook for 30 min
15. After 25 min heat the sauce up again
16. Once it has heated and the fish has cooked for 30 min, pour sauce over the fish evenly.
17. Cover with grated cheese and return to oven under the grill till the cheese browns

And there you have it, pretty good. Would definitely add chips and some steamed veg on the side next time!

PS. Wish you were here