The true flavour for this dish comes from the white miso paste, which is available in good delis and Asian stores. Also known as sweet or mellow miso, white miso is fermented for a shorter time and is lower in salt than the darker varieties. It has a milder, more delicate flavour, making it the perfect partner for fish.

 

Serves 4

Ingredients:

  • 4 x 200g (7oz) hake portions, skinned and boned
  • rapeseed oil, for greasing
  • 200g (7oz) mixed baby salad leaves
  • lime wedges, to garnish

Marinade:

  • 2 garlic cloves, crushed
  • 4 tbsp white miso paste
  • 1 tbsp freshly grated root ginger
  • 1 tbsp maple syrup
  • 1 tbsp rice wine vinegar
  • 1 tbsp toasted sesame oil

Salsa:

  • 100g (4oz) cherry tomatoes, cut into quarters
  • 1 small red chilli, seeded and finely diced
  • finely grated zest and juice of 1 lime
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 tbsp chopped fresh coriander
  • 1 small, firm, ripe avocado, peeled, stoned and diced
  • sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

To Cook:

Mix all the marinade ingredients together in a non- metallic shallow dish. Place the hake in the marinade, turning to coat. Cover with cling film and place in the fridge for a couple of hours or overnight is fine.

Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F/gas mark 4). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and brush the paper with a little rapeseed oil.

Arrange the marinated hake on top of the oiled paper, skinned side down. Spoon over 2 tablespoons of the marinade and bake for 12–15 minutes, until the hake is just cooked through and tender. The exact cooking time will depend on the thickness of the fillets.

Meanwhile, to make the salsa, place the cherry tomatoes, red chilli, lime zest and juice, olive oil and coriander in a bowl. Mix together and season with salt and pepper, then carefully stir in the avocado. Do not over mix.

Preheat the grill to medium. Remove the hake from the oven and brush over the rest of the marinade, then place under the grill for 2–3 minutes,  until golden, being careful that the parchment paper does not catch and begin to burn.

Arrange the salad leaves on plates with the avocado and cherry tomato salsa. Top each plate with a piece of hake and add a lime wedge to each one to serve.

 

Wine to match this dish…

The texture and flavour suits the Asian flavours in this dish particularly well.

The Asian spicing and lime salsa in this dish match particularly well with a Riesling from Australia’s Clare Valley, one of the country’s leading Riesling centres.

Expect powerful lime cordial flavours and precise acidity which stand up particularly well to spicing and strong flavours such as coriander from the classic Wakefield Riesling.

 

 

 

Recipe and image courtesy of Bord Bia