Name: Roast hake with squash, carrot and almond purée and quick radish pickle
Total time: 50 min
Yield: Serves 4
Ingredients: mild olive oil; 2 carrots, scrubbed and grated; 5 cloves garlic, lightly squashed; 400g butternut squash, seeded and chopped into 1.5cm cubes; 100g blanched almonds, toasted; 750g hake, cut into 4 fillets; a handful flaked almonds, toasted; 1 tsp honey; ½ lemon, juiced; 75g radishes, sliced

Roast Hake with Butternut Squash Purée and Pickled Radish

mild olive oil
2 carrots
scrubbed and grated
5 cloves garlic
lightly squashed
400g butternut squash
seeded and chopped into 1.5cm cubes
100g blanched almonds
toasted
750g hake
cut into 4 fillets
a handful flaked almonds
toasted

RADISH PICKLE

1 tsp honey
½ lemon
juiced
75g radishes
sliced

Method

step 1
Heat the oven to 180C/fan 160C/gas 4. Line a baking tray with foil and brush with olive oil. Spread the grated carrot in an even layer, scatter over the garlic, and season. Put the squash on top and drizzle with oil, season again and roast for 30-40 minutes until soft and slightly caramelised. Leave to cool slightly, but keep the oven on.
step 2
Blitz the almonds to a powder using a spice grinder. Squeeze the garlic out of its skin and put into a food processor along with the ground almonds, squash and carrot. Blitz into a fine purée, adding a splash of water if you need to, and season.
step 3
To make the radish pickle, dissolve the honey and a pinch of salt in the lemon juice and taste. You want a balance of sweet, sour and salty. Stir through the radishes.
step 4
Heat 2 tbsp oil in an ovenproof frying pan. Season the hake skin with sea salt and pop it down into the oil. After 5 seconds shake the pan so the skin doesn’t stick. Cook for 5 minutes and put in the oven for another 5 minutes or until the flesh separates easily.
step 5
Put a spoon of purée onto 4 plates, then the fish on top, skin-side up. Spoon the radishes and the dressing all around. Scatter with flaked almonds to serve.