Fillet of hake with roasted cauliflower mash recipe

Mashed cauliflower is a great accompaniment to any fish. I’ve even served it with a Sunday roast before, when I bought slightly blemished cauliflowers that would otherwise have ended up in the bin. You can stick with just the mashed cauliflower here, or serve it with an easy, herby butter sauce.

Timings

Prep time: 15 minutes

Cook time: 35 minutes

Serves

4

Ingredients

• 1 small cauliflower, broken roughly into florets, plus any tender leaves

• 4 fillets of hake, weighing about 180g each

• a little vegetable or rapeseed oil, for frying

• 50g butter

For the butter sauce

• 100ml white wine

• 1 large shallot, finely chopped

• 120g cold butter, diced

• 2 tbsp finely chopped chives

• juice of ½ lemon, or to taste

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 200C/180C fan/gas mark 6.

2. Cook the cauliflower florets and any leaves in boiling salted water for about 7-8 minutes, until soft, then drain and season well.

3. Meanwhile, start making the sauce.

4. Put the white wine in a small pan over a medium heat and add the shallot. Continue to cook until you have ½ tbsp of liquid left.

5. Season the hake fillets. Heat a little oil in a non-stick or cast-iron frying pan and fry the fish for a few minutes on each side, until cooked through, adding a couple of knobs from the 50g butter as the fillets are frying.

6. While the fish is cooking, heat the remainder of the 50g butter in an ovenproof frying pan and fry the cauliflower on the hob, turning it occasionally, until lightly coloured all over. Transfer the pan to the oven to roast for about 10 minutes, until golden brown.

7. To finish the sauce, whisk the 120g cold, diced butter into the reduced wine over a medium heat until melted and emulsified. Add the finely chopped chives, some seasoning and lemon juice to taste.

8. Mash the cauliflower and leaves with a potato masher or the back of a fork and season if necessary. Serve on warmed plates with the fish on top, and pour over the butter sauce to finish.