Hake with Sauce Vierge & Couscous

📝 Ingredients

• 4 hake fillets (about 150 g each), fresh or frozen
• 240 g medium wheat couscous
• 1 vegetable stock cube + 260 ml hot water
• 2 courgettes (about 200 g each)
• 3 very ripe tomatoes (about 120 g each)
• 1 shallot
• 1 tbsp capers (15 g)
• 15 g fresh basil
• 15 g fresh parsley
• 1 unwaxed lemon
• 5 tbsp olive oil
• Salt, black pepper

🍴 Utensils

• Ovenproof dish
• Frying pan
• Mixing bowl
• Chopping board
• Knife
• Fine grater

📖 Steps

1. Preheat the oven to 200 °C. If the hake is frozen, leave it to thaw in the fridge the day before. Pat the fillets thoroughly dry with kitchen paper: wet fish releases water and steams instead of roasting.
2. Make the sauce vierge: finely grate the lemon zest and set aside, then squeeze the juice. Dice the tomatoes into 5 mm cubes, removing the seeds, and finely chop the shallot and basil. Mix everything with the capers, lemon juice and 3 tbsp oil, then season with salt and pepper.
3. Oil the dish with 1 tbsp oil, lay the hake fillets in it and season with salt and pepper. Bake for 12 minutes, until the flesh is white and opaque and flakes when pierced with a fork.
4. Meanwhile, cut the courgettes into 1 cm dice. Sauté them in a frying pan with the last spoonful of oil over medium-high heat for 6 to 7 minutes, until golden but still slightly firm. Season with salt.
5. Bring the 260 ml water to the boil and crumble in the stock cube, stirring to dissolve it. Put the couscous in a bowl, pour over the boiling stock, cover with a plate and leave to swell for 5 minutes without touching it.
6. Fluff up the couscous with a fork to separate the grains, then stir in the courgettes, chopped parsley and lemon zest. Taste and adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper.
7. Divide the couscous between the plates, place a hake fillet on top and spoon over plenty of sauce vierge at the last moment, so it stays fresh and contrasts with the hot fish.