Baked hake with brown butter and samphire dressing

Method

1. If you want to make the brine for the hake, place all of the brine ingredients and 2 litres/3½ pints water in a large saucepan. Bring to a simmer and cook until the sugar and salt are dissolved. Leave to cool. Add the hake fillets to the brine and set aside for 1 hour, then remove the fish and pat dry with kitchen paper or a tea towel.

2. To make the croûtons, heat the oil in a large frying pan and add the bread. Season with the sea salt and mace. Once the bread starts to turn golden, add the butter and keep the croûtons moving. Let the butter foam and absorb into the bread. Add the garlic and toss everything together. Take the pan off the heat and transfer the crisp croûtons to kitchen paper to drain.

3. To make the hake, heat the butter in a medium-sized frying pan over a high heat. Spread the butter out with a wooden spoon but don’t shake or move the pan. The butter will go foamy then start to brown. Once the butter is a lovely golden brown, pass it through a sieve into a bowl (keeping the pan to one side) and leave to cool, then transfer to the fridge to set. Once the butter has set, give it a good whisk to bring it back to a smooth consistency.

4. Preheat the oven to 195C/175C Fan/Gas 5½. Place the four hake fillets on a non-stick baking tray or a baking tray lined with baking paper. If you chose not to brine them, season the hake portions all over with sea salt. Generously spoon the brown butter all over each fish portion, making sure to spread it on the bottom of the fish and the sides. Bake for 7 minutes or until they reach an internal temperature of 45C (a food thermometer is handy here).

5. Heat the olive oil in the same pan used for the brown butter over a medium heat. Add the shallot, garlic and a pinch of sea salt. Cook gently or 2–3 minutes without browning until the shallots and garlic are softened.

6. Once the fish is cooked, remove from the oven and pour the brown butter and all the hake juices from the baking tray into the pan with the shallot mixture. Leave the fish on the tray to rest for 2–3 minutes while you finish the sauce.

7. Add the samphire, lemon juice and seaweed to the shallot mixture. Stir for 30 seconds, so the samphire starts to wilt slightly. Add the chives and parsley and a couple of twists of black pepper.

8. Place the baked hake on four plates and divide the brown butter dressing between them. Finish with the croûtons and lemon and lime zests and serve.