AI-generated image
Merluza á galega
Merluza á galega: Galician poached hake and potatoes with a garlic and paprika ajada
This is the Friday supper of Galician homes and the plain, honest plate you find in harbour restaurants from A Coruña to Vigo: thick hake steaks poached with potatoes, onion and bay, then drizzled with ajada, hot olive oil with garlic and paprika. It relies on very fresh fish and good oil. A common mistake is boiling the hake hard, which breaks it apart; it should poach gently in water that barely shivers. Chef's tip: lift out the fish with a slotted spatula and let it drain well, so the ajada sits on top instead of sliding into a watery puddle.
- Total time
- 45 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
For the hake and potatoes
For the ajada
Shop this recipe on Amazon
Fresh ingredients (3)
Links open Amazon in a new tab. As an Amazon Associate, WhatToEat.Today earns from qualifying purchases.
Method
0/4 doneStep 1: Put 1 ¾ lb waxy potatoes, 1 onion, 2 bay leaves, 6 ¼ cups water and 2 tsp salt in a wide pot. Bring to the boil and simmer for 12–15 minutes, until the potatoes are almost tender.
15 minStep 2: Lower the heat so the water barely shivers. Add the 1 ¾ lb hake steaks, 3 cm thick and poach gently for 7–8 minutes, until the flesh is opaque all the way to the bone and flakes easily.
8 minStep 3: Meanwhile, warm ½ cup olive oil with 4 cloves garlic in a small pan over a medium-low heat for 2–3 minutes, until the garlic is pale gold. Take off the heat, wait 30 seconds and stir in 1 ½ tsp sweet paprika and ½ tsp hot paprika (and a few drops of vinegar if you like).
3 minStep 4: Lift the hake, potatoes and onion onto warm plates with a slotted spatula, letting them drain well. Pour the ajada over and serve at once.
3 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 450 kcal
- Protein
- 38 g
- Carbs
- 32 g
- Fat
- 19 g
- Fibre
- 4 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does merluza á galega take?
- About 45 minutes in total: 15 minutes to prepare and 30 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- What can I use instead of waxy potatoes?
- Sweet potato, same weight (sweeter, cooks a little faster).
- What can I use instead of onion?
- 2 shallots per onion.
Reviews
No reviews yet. Be the first to cook it.
Rate this recipe
Sign in to rate and review this recipe.
You might also like
Horchata de chufa
Horchata de chufa is the drink of Valencia's summer, sold ice-cold in the city's horchaterías with long, soft fartons pastries for dipping. It is made from chufas, or tiger nuts: small wrinkled tubers grown around the village of Alboraya just north of Valencia, which have their own protected designation of origin. Soaked, ground with water, strained and sweetened, they give a creamy, nutty, naturally dairy-free milk with a hint of cinnamon. Valencians drink it very cold, or half-frozen as 'granizada'. Chef's tip: soak the tiger nuts for a full 24 hours and change the water once; they must be plump and soft enough to blend into a fine pulp, or the horchata will be thin and taste of raw starch.
Singapore chilli crab
Chilli crab was first sold from a pushcart on the Kallang river in the 1950s and is now the dish visitors queue for along Singapore's East Coast seafood strip. Big mud crabs are cut up, wok-fried and simmered in a thick, sweet, tangy and gently hot sauce of chilli, tomato and garlic, which is then silked with beaten egg. Everyone eats with their hands and mops up the sauce with fried or steamed mantou buns. It is a weekend or celebration meal, messy and loud. Buy crabs live or freshly cooked the same day from a fishmonger you trust. Discard any live crab that doesn't move, smells of ammonia or has a cracked, leaking shell. The common mistake is boiling the sauce after adding the egg, which scrambles it into lumps; pour it in a thin stream over a low heat. Chef's tip: ask the fishmonger to clean and quarter the crab for you, and crack each claw lightly with the back of a cleaver so the sauce soaks in.
Singaporean
Rhode Island clam cakes
At beach shacks along Narragansett Bay and in Galilee, clam cakes are bought by the paper bag, half a dozen at a time, to dunk in a cup of clear clam chowder. They are not patties but craggy, golden fritters, crisp outside and soft inside, studded with chopped quahog clams. Chef's tip: use the clam juice as part of the liquid; it puts the sea flavour into every bite of batter.
American