Livorno-Style Hake & Polenta

📝 Ingredients

• 600 g hake fillets (4 fillets of about 150 g each)
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 3 garlic cloves
• 1 tin of chopped tomatoes (400 g)
• 1 tbsp tomato paste
• 60 g pitted black olives, drained
• 1 tbsp capers, drained
• 15 g fresh parsley
• 240 g instant polenta (quick-cook)
• 1 vegetable stock cube + 800 ml hot water
• 200 ml semi-skimmed milk
• 40 g grated Parmesan
• Salt, black pepper

🍴 Utensils

• Large sauté pan with lid
• Saucepan
• Whisk
• Wooden spoon
• Chopping board and knife

📖 Steps

1. Take the hake out of the fridge 10 minutes beforehand, pat it dry with kitchen paper, run your fingertips over it to check for bones and lightly salt both sides. Peel and thinly slice the garlic, chop the parsley and slice the olives into rings.
2. In the sauté pan, heat the olive oil over a low heat with the garlic and cook for 1 to 2 minutes, stirring, until fragrant and barely golden: if it browns, it turns bitter. Add the tomato purée and stir for 30 seconds.
3. Pour in the chopped tomatoes, add the olives, capers and half the parsley, season with pepper, then simmer for 10 minutes over a medium-low heat, uncovered, stirring from time to time, until the sauce thickens. Don't add salt: the olives and capers are salty enough already.
4. Meanwhile, dissolve the stock cube in the 800 ml hot water in the saucepan, add the milk and bring to a simmer over a medium heat, keeping an eye on it so the milk doesn't boil over.
5. Lay the hake fillets in the sauce, skin side down if they have skin, and spoon some sauce over them. Cover and cook for 8 to 10 minutes over a low heat, until the flesh is white, opaque and flakes easily with a fork. Don't stir, so they don't break up.
6. At the same time, pour the polenta in a steady stream into the simmering stock, whisking constantly to prevent lumps. Cook for 5 minutes over a low heat, stirring with a wooden spoon, until it thickens and comes away from the sides of the pan; watch out for splatters.
7. Off the heat, stir the Parmesan into the polenta, season with pepper and taste before adding salt. It should be soft and creamy: serve it straight away, as it firms up as it cools.
8. Divide the polenta between shallow bowls, place a hake fillet on top, spoon over the olive sauce and scatter with the rest of the parsley. Serve immediately, piping hot.