When it comes to cooking, I like preparing dishes that are not very extravagant.
Since it is really simple and easy to make hake broth with potatoes and carrots, it is one of my favorite choices.
Winter is the best time to eat it, because it can really warm you up.
So, if it’s cold, a very good way to increase the temperature of your body, beat the cold a bit, and feel more comfortable, is to try to make this nice, healthy, and nutritious broth.
I definitely recommend it.
Ingredients
Hake fish: 1-1.2 kg
Potatoes: 6-8 small or 4 big ones
Carrots: 3-4 medium or 2 large ones
Onion: One
Celeriac: About half a cup, chopped, including 1 green stem (also chopped)
Salt: To taste
Pepper: A pinch of ground black pepper
Olive oil: 1/4 to 1/2 a cup
Lemon: Freshly squeezed juice from 1 lemon
Water: Enough to cover the fish inside the deep saucepan
Mayonnaise: 1-2 teaspoons to add to each dish served (to taste)
Cooking utensils
A deep saucepan (to boil the fish)
Another medium to deep saucepan (to put the fish broth and add the vegetables)
A colander
A small pot to use to pass the broth through the colander and into the second saucepan
A mixing (wooden) spoon
A ladle
A shallow utensil to put the fish in
A bowl to keep the potatoes, the carrots, and celeriac in water
Soup dishes to serve the broth
Method
Put the fish into the first saucepan.
Fill the saucepan with water, so that the fish is fully covered with it.
Add some salt (1-2 teaspoons) and a pinch of lemon juice.
Put the saucepan on the stove plate, and turn heat to maximum.
Put the lid on.
Once the broth has come to boiling point, turn heat to medium, put the lid back on, and leave it slightly open.
Peel the potatoes and cut them into 1-2 cm pieces.
Peel the carrots and cut them like thick coins.
Peel the celeriac, and chop it along with the stem.
Keep the potatoes, the carrots, and the carrots in water with a pinch of vinegar or lemon to prevent them from going black.
After half an hour, take the saucepan off the plate.
Take the fish out of the saucepan and into the shallow utensil.
Cover the fish with a lid.
Pass the broth through the colander (to prevent any small fish bones from going into the final broth), and into the second saucepan.
Add the potatoes, the carrots, and the celeriac.
Add the olive oil, salt to taste, and the pepper.
Put the saucepan on the stove plate, turn heat to maximum, and once it has started boiling, turn heat to medium to low, put the lid on, and let it boil for 30-40 minutes.
Serve the broth in shallow soup dishes, with the option of adding mayonnaise.
Put the fish in the middle, where everyone can be served from, and add it to their broth.
That’s it.
Enjoy!
Note
This recipe does not classify as a typical “fish stock”. It is rather a fish broth. In order to make a fish stock, you mostly need fish bones and heads, which you slowly boil for hours (some chefs even boil them for days) to take collagen and other nutrients. It’s OK to boil fish bones for hours, because you only want to take their nutrients, and then, you can discard them. Fish meat, on the other hand, is too tender to boil for hours.
Further reading:
Quick Fish Stew
Hake Fish Soup