Pescado en Amarillo Gaditano

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Wide lidded cazuela or sauté pan, about 28cm
• •Small dry frying pan for the saffron
• •Instant-read thermometer, optional

Instructions

1. 1

   Season the hake

   Check the hake for stray scales, then dry it well. Season both sides with 3g of the salt and leave it at cool room temperature for 15 minutes while you start the sauce. If the fish was frozen, thaw it overnight in the refrigerator first; excess water would thin the broth.

   Hake steaks cut through the bone hold together better than thin boneless fillets, and the bone gives the sauce a little more body.
2. 2

   Bloom the spices

   Put the saffron in a dry pan over low heat for 20 seconds, just until fragrant. Do not let it darken. Crush it between your fingers into a small bowl, add the turmeric and 100ml of the warm fish stock, then leave the mixture to infuse while the onion cooks.

3. 3

   Build the sofrito

   Heat the olive oil in a wide 28cm cazuela or sauté pan over medium-low heat. Add the onion, bay leaf, and 3g of the salt. Cook for 12 to 15 minutes, stirring regularly, until the onion is deep gold, soft, and sweet but not browned at the edges. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Rush this and the onion stays pale and sharp, and the whole sauce tastes thinner.

4. 4

   Reduce the wine

   Pour in the manzanilla or white wine and scrape the bottom of the pan. Raise the heat to medium and let it bubble for 2 to 3 minutes, until the raw smell of alcohol has gone and only a few spoonfuls remain.

5. 5

   Simmer the potatoes

   Add the potatoes and turn them through the onion and oil for 2 minutes. Pour in the saffron mixture and 400ml more warm stock, reserving the last 100ml. Bring to a gentle simmer, cover slightly ajar, and cook for 15 to 20 minutes. Shake the pan once or twice. The potatoes are ready for the fish when a knife enters easily but the pieces still hold their shape.

   Crack each potato piece away with the knife rather than cutting every edge cleanly. The rough surfaces release enough starch to give the sauce a light, silky body.
6. 6

   Poach the hake

   Stir the peas into the potatoes, then arrange the hake in one layer without pushing it beneath the sauce. Spoon a little broth over each piece. Add enough reserved stock to bring the liquid halfway up the fish, cover, and hold it at the barest simmer for 5 to 7 minutes. Do not stir. The hake is done when the centre is opaque, separates in moist flakes, and reaches 63°C.

7. 7

   Rest and finish

   Take the pan off the heat and leave it covered for 3 minutes. Discard the bay leaf, add most of the parsley, and shake the pan gently by its handles so the potato starch and olive oil settle into the broth. Taste before adding the remaining salt. Scatter over the last parsley and serve directly from the cazuela, with potatoes, peas, fish, and yellow sauce in every portion.

Chef Tips

• •Buy thick hake steaks with moist, pearly flesh and a clean sea smell. Hake frozen at sea is often a better choice than tired fish sold as fresh. Thaw it overnight in the refrigerator and dry it thoroughly.
• •If hake is unavailable, use fresh cod or pollock in equally thick pieces. Cod stays firmer and tastes richer; pollock is less costly and leaner, so begin checking it after 4 minutes.
• •Use only 1g of turmeric. Its job is to support the saffron's yellow, not announce itself. More gives the sauce an earthy bitterness and hides the hake. The colour comes from spice, not bottled yellow colouring.
• •A light fish stock is best. If the only stock available is dark or strongly flavoured, use water instead; the finished sauce will be lighter, but it will still taste cleanly of fish. Chicken stock belongs elsewhere.
• •Fresh spring peas are lovely, but frozen peas lose nothing important here and can go straight into the pan. Canned peas are already soft and should be drained, rinsed, and added only for the final 2 minutes.
• •Manzanilla from Sanlúcar makes sense beside a Cádiz fish stew and in the pan. A dry fino or an unoaked dry white wine also works; avoid sweet wine, which makes the onion and peas cloying.
• •Refrigerate leftovers within 2 hours and eat them the next day. Reheat very gently with a splash of water. The fish will be firmer, and the potatoes make this a poor dish for freezing.

Advance Preparation

• •Thaw frozen hake overnight in the refrigerator, still wrapped or covered, then dry it well before seasoning.
• •The saffron and turmeric can be infused in warm stock up to 4 hours ahead and kept covered.
• •The sofrito can be cooked through the wine reduction 1 day ahead. Cool and refrigerate it, then return it to a simmer before adding the potatoes. Cook the potatoes and fish only when you are ready to serve.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 580g)