Deliciously seasoned hake on a bed of sweet caramelised onions.
Easy to make and a delight to eat!
I always think it’s a shame that hake isn’t a more popular fish, despite being moist, flaky and delicious. It’s sadly so underrated that it can sometimes be quite hard to come by. So I was feeling pretty pleased when I found a big bag of frozen hake loins recently, which of course made its way to our freezer at home.
How to cook hake
Like other flaky white fish, hake is quite versatile and can be cooked in a number of ways, including pan-frying, or deep frying in batter. However my favourite is the simplest – oven baked with delicious seasonings.
Caramelised onions
On this occasion, I had a lot of onions to use up, so I decided to create a layer of delicious golden onions as a bed for the hake fillets.
I caramelised the sliced onions slowly in olive oil, then added a dash of balsamic vinegar. The onion mixture was then spread over the bottom of the baking dish, ready for the fish. I had planned to season the onions with thyme and smoked paprika, but in the end I added these herbs & spices directly to the hake instead. This meant that both elements of the dish were deliciously flavoursome, and complemented one another beautifully.
Hake with caramelised onions – ingredients
To make this tasty, healthy dish for yourself, you will need the following simple ingredients:
- hake fillets – or you can use any other similar white fish, for instance cod or haddock
- onions – of course!
- olive oil
- dried thyme
- smoked paprika – this gives a really deep and delicious flavour to the dish
Hake with onions – Rave Reviews!
DH loved this baked hake dish, especially the balsamic caramelised onions, which he described as bring almost like a chutney. My daughter Kipper bummed down the hake, but refused to try the onions – better luck next time! But she did tell me to make this again, so….
Serves 3, but this amount of onions would easily stretch to 4 fish fillets.
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📖 Recipe
Hake with balsamic caramelised onions, thyme & smoked paprika
Ingredients
- 450-500 g onions (3-4 medium onions)
- 3 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
- 3 hake fillets (approx. 150g/5 oz each)
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
Instructions
- Peel and slice the onions. Heat the olive oil in a large, heavy-based pan over a low-medium heat. Add the sliced onions and cook, stirring occasionally, for about 25-30 minutes, until very soft and golden. Stir in the balsamic vinegar.
- Meanwhile, pat the fish dry and place in a bowl with the olive oil, smoked paprika and thyme. Mix gently with your hands to coat the fish in the oil and seasonings. Cover and leave to stand for at least 30 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F).
- Spread the onions in the base of a baking dish and arrange the fish on top. Bake at 180°C (350°F) for 15-20 minutes until the fish is cooked through. Serve and enjoy!
Nutrition
More delicious fish recipes
You might also like to try:
- Oven-baked cod with sun-dried tomato and herb crust
- Grilled hake with spring onion mayonnaise
- Fish pie pasta bake – 2 favourites in 1!
- Feel-good fish curry – comfort food with an Asian flavour
Elle Bloggs
This looks amazing! Will be trying this out later this week for tea
Helen
Thanks Elle – I hope you enjoy it 🙂
nazima
oh I love onions cooked like this! am sure the combination of flavours comes together very well. Healthy but comfort food!
Helen
Thanks Nazima. It is comforting and tasty 🙂
Camilla
I love simple tasty fish dishes like this – yum:)
Helen
Thanks Camilla. It’s delicious!
Sone Erasmus
Can i use balsamic glaze
Helen
Yes! You can substitute balsamic glaze for the balsamic vinegar. Just add a drop of water to loosen the onion mixture a little if necessary. Enjoy!