Ingredients

• 1 beef tomato
• 125g/4½oz potted shrimp
• 1 shallot
• diced
• 1 tbsp finely chopped fresh chives
• 1 tbsp finely chopped fresh flatleaf parsley
• 50g/1¾oz capers
• preferably lilliput
• 1 lemon
• zested and thinly sliced
• chervil cress
• to garnish
• 4–5 large new potatoes
• preferably Cyprus or Jersey Royals
• washed
• peeled and diced
• 50ml/2fl oz double cream
• 50g/1¾oz unsalted butter
• pinch freshly grated nutmeg
• salt and ground white pepper
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 4 x 150–200g/5½oz–7oz hake loin fillets
• flaked sea salt
• Espelette pepper
• 50g/1¾oz unsalted butter
• 200g/7oz baby leaf spinach
• washed
• 100g/3½oz wild garlic leaves
• garlic flower heads
• to garnish (optional)

Directions

• Cut a small cross into the bottom of the tomato with a small
• sharp knife and blanch in a pan of boiling water for about ten seconds
• then drain and plunge into ice-cold water. Peel the tomato and discard the skin.
• Cut the peeled tomato into quarters and remove the seeds. Pat the tomato pieces dry with a clean tea towel and cut into small dice. Set aside.
• Heat a frying pan over a medium heat and add the potted shrimps
• shallots and tomato. Cook for 5–7 minutes until the butter has melted into a sauce. Stir in the herbs and capers and keep warm.
• For the potatoes
• bring a pan of water to the boil and cook the potatoes for 6–8 minutes
• or until tender
• Drain the potatoes and return them to the pan to air-dry for a couple of minutes. Gradually add the cream and butter and mix with a hand-held blender until smooth. Grate in the nutmeg and season. Cover with greaseproof paper and keep warm.
• For the hake
• preheat the grill to medium-high. Heat the vegetable oil in a pan until smoking point
• season the skin side of the hake with sea salt and the flesh side with salt and the Espelette pepper. Cook skin-side down in the pan for 1–2 minutes. Place the pan under the grill for 2–3 minutes or until the fish is slightly translucent.
• Add a knob of butter to the pan
• turn over the fish fillets and baste with the melted butter.
• Heat the remaining butter in a pan set over a high heat. Add the spinach and wild garlic leaves and cook for 1 minute.
• Serve the hake with the pommes mousseline
• wilted greens and the shrimp sauce spooned over the top. Garnish with lemon zest
• slices and chervil cress and wild garlic flowers
• if using.