Hake, Rice & Lemony Peas

📝 Ingredients

• 640 g frozen hake fillets (4 fillets of about 160 g each)
• 280 g long-grain rice
• 400 g frozen peas
• 1 vegetable stock cube + 1 L water + 1 bay leaf (for poaching the hake)
• 300 g fat-free fromage frais (0 %)
• 1 lemon (zest and juice)
• 20 g fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• Salt, black pepper

🍴 Utensils

• Large saucepan
• Sauté pan
• Slotted spoon
• Colander
• Fine grater
• 4 airtight containers + 4 small pots

📖 Steps

1. The day before, put the hake fillets in the fridge to thaw, on a plate and still in their packaging. On the day, pat them dry carefully with kitchen paper. If you forget, poach them from frozen, allowing an extra 4 min of cooking.
2. Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil, add the rice and cook for 11 min at a gentle boil, stirring once or twice. Add the peas, still frozen, straight into the pan for the last 4 minutes, then drain everything in a colander.
3. Meanwhile, bring 1 L water to the boil in a sauté pan with the stock cube and bay leaf, then lower the heat: the liquid should only simmer, with small bubbles on the surface. Stock that boils too hard would break up the delicate hake flesh.
4. Slide the fillets into the simmering stock in a single layer and poach for 8 min, uncovered. They're done when the flesh is white and opaque all the way through and flakes apart under the tip of a knife. Lift them out gently with a slotted spoon and leave to drain on a plate.
5. Finely grate the lemon zest, taking only the yellow part (the white pith is bitter), then squeeze the juice. Wash, dry and chop the parsley. In a bowl, mix the fromage frais, zest, half the lemon juice and half the parsley, season with salt and pepper, then taste and adjust.
6. Drizzle the rice and peas with the olive oil and the rest of the lemon juice, then add the remaining parsley. Season lightly with salt, toss with a fork and divide between the 4 containers. Place a hake fillet on each portion and add a grind of black pepper.
7. Divide the sauce between the 4 small pots: kept separate, it won't heat up in the microwave. Leave the containers to cool for 20 min uncovered, then seal them and store in the fridge, where they keep for 3 days.
8. At mealtime, add 1 tbsp water over the rice so it doesn't dry out and reheat the container, lid ajar, for 2 to 3 min in the microwave on medium power (600 W). Spoon the well-chilled lemon sauce over the hake just before eating.