Fish is one of the key ingredients of the Mediterranean diet! With that in mind, and in the combination with the Croatian traditional cuisine, it’s time to prepare some delicious dishes with a focus on fish. This time, that will be hake, one of the most delicious fish of the Adriatic Sea!
Besides the flavors, hake is known for its health benefits too. We will combine those flavors with potatoes but first, we need to cook everything, layer the ingredients, and then baked them all together. Let’s start!
Introduction To Croatian Cuisine: Seafood & Fish
Croatian cuisine is known to be very versatile. People use different types of meat, vegetables, fish, herbs, and spices in order to prepare nutritious dishes rich in flavors. However, as today’s focus is on seafood and fish, the importance of such ingredients needs to be recognized in the proper way.
With more than 3,500 miles of coastline, it isn’t surprising that Croats love to consume seafood! The entire western side of Croatia is lined with the Adriatic Sea and until today, it has been recorded that the sea is home to more than 450 types of fish. This number keeps on rising every single year!
Among all the marine fish, Croatian especially enjoy consuming sardines, grouper, hake, sea bass, and sea bream.
- Sardines are the most important fish of the Croatian sea. They are nutritious and healthy, and they can be prepared by grilling, frying, cooking, or raw and salted.
- Grouper may not be very attractive, but it is one of the most respectful fishes of the Adriatic. It is best when prepared in a stew.
- Hake is known for its juicy meat. It is one of the key ingredients of Croatian cuisine and it is often combined with traditional Mediterranean herbs and spices.
- Sea bass has a very specific look and it is very popular in gastronomy. It is great for the preparation of fish stew.
- Sea bream is a noble type of Adriatic white fish. It has juicy meat and can be prepared in many ways. Usually, it is fried or grilled.
Besides all the mentioned fish, the Adriatic sea is home to many more fishes and seafood that are used daily in the Croatian cuisine and gastronomy scene. Those can be dentex, šarag, octopus, shrimp, squid, ušata, grdobina, mackerel, tuna, and more.
People of the Croatian coastline, which includes Istria, Kvarner, and Dalmatia, have been fishing since the early days. Fishing is one of the most important activities in these Croatian regions, especially the islands.
In the terms of fishing and cuisine, the Croatian coastline and islands were mostly influenced by Greeks and Romans.
Hake, Key Ingredient Of A Healthy Diet
European and Mediterranean hake lives in the sea depths (from 100 to 300 meters) of northern Adriatic, the western Atlantic to Iceland, as well as along the African and North American coasts.
Hake has recognizable clean eyes, red gills, a shiny-skinned body in grey color, and a sharp jaw. Its size varies up to 1,25 meters, while its weight may reach 10 kilograms.
As an ingredient, hake is one of the healthiest and most nutritious fish, so it is an important part of the Mediterranean diet, not just Croatian cuisine. What is interesting is that hake, when it is used for cooking, is usually frozen as fresh fish quickly loses its flavors.
The meat of the hake is white, soft, and juicy. It contains a small number of calories and has a lot of proteins. Here is the table with hake’s nutritive valuables.
Hake is also very rich in vitamins and minerals. It contains vitamin B1, vitamin B2, potassium, calcium, and phosphorus.
Fish has many benefits for the human body and health. Omega-3 fatty acids keep your heart and blood vessels healthy, while other minerals and vitamins individually contribute to health and act synergistically in maintaining the human body.
Hake Preparation: Tips & Tricks
The dish we’re going to prepare is really easy to make – and you don’t need to be a professional chef or have any special cooking skills for it! Now, before getting into the recipe, let’s talk in detail about the ingredients and some steps of the food preparation.
Do you need to use hake only for this dish? Absolutely not! This dish is traditionally prepared with cod. I love hake so that type of fish is always my first choice when I need to prepare a dish that has frozen fish as the main ingredient. You can make this dish with fresh hake too, but I don’t have an access to it at the moment, so frozen fish it is! Cod is great in this combination too. I haven’t tried to prepare the recipe with some other fish, just these two, but I’m sure the recipe would work with other fish too.
Does the fish need to be defrosted? Actually no, it doesn’t. And that saves a lot of time!
How much fish and potatoes do you really need? That depends only on you. I usually prepare this dish for 4 people and it is more than enough! If you want more fish, you can add it, if you want fewer potatoes, just peel and cook one potato less. This recipe isn’t defined with the exact numbers and scales, which is great as that allows you to adjust the dish according to your preferences. I will recommend you the numbers and amounts that I use every time when preparing this dish but you can definitely adjust everything to your liking.
What about fish bones? You don’t need to worry about those with this recipe. I will show you how to get rid of all the bones. That is actually an entire step in the preparation of the dish.
Cooked & Baked: Hake With Potatoes
Peel potatoes and cut them into circles. Cook them in salted boiling water for about 20 minutes on medium fire. Once the potatoes are done, drain the water, and let the potatoes cool down a bit.
Hake should be cooked at the same time as potatoes. Place the frozen hake into the water and on medium fire. Add a tablespoon of pepper, salt, and bouillon powder. Cut 3 cloves of garlic into bigger pieces and add them to the water. Add 2 pieces of lemon too. You can add more seasonings, depending on your preferences.
Once the water is boiling, cook everything for 20 more minutes.
While everything is cooking, prepare the sauce for the dish. Cut 4 cloves of garlic, add a teaspoon of parsley, and cover everything with olive oil. The amount of olive oil depends on your preferences. I use about 20 mL. Let the mixture rest.
When the hake is cooked, drain the water, and let the fish cool down. Its temperature needs to be comfortable for you to hold it with your hands without getting burnt.
Use your hands to break off all the pieces of hake. Remove all the bones you come across.
Place the olive oil mixture at the bottom of your baking pan. Place one layer of the potatoes and one layer of the hake on top of it.
Cover the top with olive oil mixture.
Cover the top of the dish with half of the container of the cooking cream.
Repeat the last 3 steps one more time. Layer the top with potatoes and then add hake. Cover the fish with olive oil mixture, and then with the rest of the cooking cream. Heat the oven up to 160°C (320 degrees Fahrenheit) and bake the dish for about 20 to 30 minutes.
Once the dish is done, let it cool down for a bit, and then you can serve it with a glass of red wine.
Bon appétit!
Ingredients
Directions
Peel potatoes and cut them into circles. Cook them in salted boiling water for about 20 minutes on medium fire. Once the potatoes are done, drain the water, and let the potatoes cool down a bit.
Hake should be cooked at the same time as potatoes. Place the frozen hake into the water and on medium fire. Add a tablespoon of pepper, salt, and bouillon powder. Cut 3 cloves of garlic into bigger pieces and add them to the water. Add 2 pieces of lemon too. You can add more seasonings, depending on your preferences.
Once the water is boiling, cook everything for 20 more minutes.
While everything is cooking, prepare the sauce for the dish. Cut 4 cloves of garlic, add a teaspoon of parsley, and cover everything with olive oil. The amount of olive oil depends on your preferences. I use about 20 mL. Let the mixture rest.
When the hake is cooked, drain the water, and let the fish cool down. Its temperature needs to be comfortable for you to hold it with your hands without getting burnt.
Use your hands to break off all the pieces of hake. Remove all the bones you come across.
Place the olive oil mixture at the bottom of your baking pan. Place one layer of the potatoes and one layer of the hake on top of it.
Cover the top with olive oil mixture.
Cover the top of the dish with half of the container of the cooking cream.
Repeat the last 3 steps one more time. Layer the top with potatoes and then add hake. Cover the fish with olive oil mixture, and then with the rest of the cooking cream. Heat the oven up to 160°C (320 degrees Fahrenheit) and bake the dish for about 20 to 30 minutes.
Once the dish is done, let it cool down for a bit, and then you can serve it with a glass of red wine.
Bon appétit!
To Wrap It Up
That’s it, that’s the dish! Fish is such a great ingredient for preparing rich-in-flavor dishes! There are a lot of recipes you can use and always adjust each of them to your preferences and liking. Hake is great in this combination with potatoes, olive oil, garlic, and parsley. The recipe may seem like a lot, but trust me, it isn’t! Just take your time, go one step at a time, and you’ll see how easy it is to make it, while the end results will bring you amazingly rich nuances and delicious aromas! Enjoy!
