The Catalan TableIngredients
Servings:
4
Ingredients
- hake, or monkfish
- flour
- oil
- parsley
- garlic minced
- peas
- white wine
Step-by-step Guide
Preparation
- Boil the hard-boiled eggs in advance. Place them in a pot with cold water and bring to a boil. Once the water reaches a boil, let them cook for 10 minutes. Then, cool them under cold water, peel them, and set aside.
- Boil the peas for 3-5 minutes in boiling water with a pinch of salt until they are tender. Remove them with a slotted spatula and set aside. Allow the pea cooking water to cool and save it for later use.
- Lightly salt and flour the fish slices evenly on both sides, shaking off excess flour to prevent sticking to the pan.
- Pour a generous drizzle of olive oil into a large pan over medium-high heat, ensuring the oil thoroughly covers the base.
- Carefully place the fish slices at the bottom of the pan, side by side, leaving minimal space between them to ensure even cooking.
- Prepare a fine mixture of garlic and a generous amount of fresh parsley in a mortar. Once minced, add a ladle of the cooking water from the peas and mix well until achieving a homogeneous paste.
- Pour the mixture with the water over the fish slices, distributing it evenly. If necessary, add a bit more of the pea cooking water, but ensure that the liquid just covers the fish for excellent cooking.
Note
- Cover the pot with a tight-fitting lid and set it to cook on very low heat for 10 minutes. It’s important not to stir or uncover the pot during this time. To ensure even cooking, grasp the pot by the handles and make repeated circular rotation movements, always in the same direction. This movement will help distribute the heat evenly and prevent the food from sticking to the bottom.
- When the pot has been boiling for 7 minutes, add the cooked peas and quartered hard-boiled eggs on top. Remember, the secret of this dish is to continue the rotating movements of the pot, so keep doing them until the cooking time is complete. Ensure the pot's contents always turn in the same direction to maintain the dish's consistency. Note: If preferred, you can substitute the peas with canned white asparagus, which will also complement the flavor of the dish nicely.
Recommendations & Tricks
- Use fresh hake or monkfish cut into slices approximately 2 cm thick to ensure even cooking.
- Finely crush a bunch of fresh parsley and a couple of garlic cloves to achieve an intense flavor in the sauce.
- Add a generous splash of dry white wine to the sauce to enhance the fish’s flavors, although it is optional.
- Boil the eggs in advance for about 10 minutes, then cool them completely and peel them before serving.
- Boil the peas for 3-5 minutes until tender, then set them aside and save the cooking water for the sauce.
- Lightly salt the fish slices before flouring them to ensure a balanced flavor.
- Flour the fish slices just before frying to maintain the crispness of the coating.
- Pour a generous amount of olive oil into the pan and heat it over medium-high heat before adding the fish to achieve an even browning.