Merluza a la Vasca (Hake with Green Sauce)

 

This is a popular dish in the Basque country of Spain where the flavorful merluza (AKA hake) fish is abundant.  There are numerous variations on this dish but they all incorporate generous amounts of chopped parsley from which the green tone of the sauce derives,  and some kind of shellfish.  The variety of crustaceans, shellfish and fish in Spain is truly remarkable, where their consumption per capita is exceeded only by Iceland and Norway.

Here in the U.S.  merluza is very hard to come by as it is an eastern Atlantic fish.  Perhaps in the North East you might have more luck.  I typically use black cod which seems texturally to be more like the real thing than say, cod.  Please utilize only the black cod with the skin on.  The gelatinous substance from the skin is crucial to creating the creaminess and flavor of the sauce.  White asparagus works better than our readily available green asparagus, though the white variety seems to be popping up more and more in supermarkets.   I recommend you buy it fully cooked in jars to save yourself a step.   If you do use green asparagus, use only the tips.

From The Complete Spanish Cookbook by Jackie Passmore 

Ingredients: (for 4)

4 1/2 lb pieces of black cod with skin on

1/2 cup of all purpose flour

1/3 cup olive oil

3-5 cloves garlic finely minced

1 medium onion (I prefer shallots for a finer taste)

1 cup fish broth or clam juice

1/2 cup dry white wine

2 tablespoons mashed potato 

12 white asparagus spears-cooked

1/2 cup peas

1/4 cups chopped parsley

12 small clams or 8 mussels

2 hard boiled eggs-chopped or quartered

salt, pepper and lemon juice

 

Preparation:

Season the fish with salt and pepper.  Set a side for 20 minutes, then dredge the pieces in all purpose flour.  Add to a frying pan with the heated olive oil.  Sauté gently for a few minutes just long  enough to seal the surfaces.  Set aside in individual cazuelas if you have them or in a larger earthenware vessel to hold all the fish.  (the individual cazuelas are nice not only for presentation but because they will retain their heat from the oven).  Distribute evenly the clams and asparagus spears.

Discard half the oil then add the onions and garlic.  Sauté until they are soft and have released their volatile scent.  Add fish stock and wine.  Bring to a boil and simmer for 2 minutes.  Add the peas, half the parsley and the mashed potatoes.  Stir to create a creamy emulsion.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  Pour this sauce over the fish and bake in a preheated oven at 350℉ for about 20 minutes or until the fish barely resists an inserted fork.  Top with the remaining parsley, adorn with the chopped egg, and squeeze some lemon juice to finish.

A Basque Txakoli (cha-ko-lee) which is a very light, at times slightly effervescent white wine would go well with this.  A Galician Albariño would be suitable as well.  !Buen provecho!