Hake with tomatoes and basil | Lawrence Murphy

In this season we generally prefer lighter dishes and if there is a chance to eat outside in the garden we grab it.

The summer months leave us spoilt for choice with fruit and vegetables including broad beans, fennel, artichokes, cherries and peaches.

English strawberries are at their finest and vine-ripened tomatoes just ooze their wonderful smell and sweet flavour.

This recipe for hake uses those vibrant tomatoes, gently cooked and paired with basil puree to give a fantastic light summer dish leaving room in your belly for those strawberries and cream.

Ingredients serves – 4

4 x 250g fillets of hake (each one coated in a little melted butter)

1 red pepper

1 onion, finely chopped

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 stick celery, finely chopped

100ml white wine

150ml fish stock

8 small vine tomatoes, sliced

Bunch basil

80ml olive oil

Method

1. Rub the red pepper with olive oil and torch or grill until black all over.

2. Allow to cool and scrape the blackened skin from the pepper. Deseed and cut into small 1cm squares.

3. Liquidise the basil and olive oil together and add a pinch of salt. Keep to one side.

4. Heat a pan on a medium heat and add some olive oil.

5 Put the onion, celery and garlic in the pan cook for 3 mins without colouring.

6. Add the white wine and reduce by half. Then add the red pepper and fish stock. Gently cook for 5 mins.

7. Roast the hake in a pre-heated oven 210C gas 7 for 14 mins.

8. Lay the sliced tomatoes into your saucepan, season, cover, and cook gently for 3 mins. Remove from the heat as the fish finishes cooking.

9. Spoon the softened tomatoes, red pepper, and juices into bowls. Top with the cooked hake and spoon around the basil puree.