Hake is probably the most popular white fish in our cuisine. Frozen hake, from trawling, is one of the star products in Spanish gastronomy, and one of the most sold. It is a food that provides very few calories, rich in B vitamins and very healthy, highly recommended for overweight diets. In our stores we can find this month an offer for fillets with or without skin and frozen hake loins.
Today, on the other hand, is Ash Wednesday, which means that Catholic Lent begins. According to tradition, on Fridays of these forty days that separate us from Holy Week, meat consumption must be avoided, as a symbol of penitence and regeneration. However, until the sixties, this Catholic requirement could be ‘circumvented’ by means of bulls. And we find interesting Lenten recipes with hake, such as hake stewed with seafood and potatoes, more humble with potatoes and garlic, fish pudding or the delicious Five Star Steak, prepared in aluminum foil packets.
Custom (or rather cost) makes cod more popular than hake on these Fridays of abstinence, although you can find frozen hake at a good price. What’s more, this year the first months of the storm have caused the price to plummet in Galicia, making it up to three times cheaper, although it is recovering. This benefits the consumer, but affects the fishing sector in the area. However, it still represents a quarter of the turnover in Galician fish markets. Another point in favor, as we said, is that it reduces blood pressure and LDL cholesterol (Ciberobn).
Parts of the hake: everything can be used
- Head: Perfect for a fish fumet.
- Loins: Battered, fried or in sauce, a highly prized part. It is common to buy frozen hake loins and prepare them in frozen hake fillets.
- Cogote: Separated from the head and usually prepared on the grill.
- Cocochas: Lower part of the chin, a real delicacy typical of Basque cuisine(kokotxas).
- Lijada: In the belly, the best part for breading and frying.
Source: Consumer.
