Home
Premium
Hake with brown butter & orzo

A serving of hake with brown butter & orzo

Hake with brown butter & orzo

Name: Hake with brown butter & orzo
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 35 min
Total time: 50 min
Yield: 4
Ingredients: 4 tbsp rapeseed oil; 1 onion finely chopped; 1 carrot finely chopped; 1 celery stick finely chopped; 1 garlic clove crushed or finely grated; 1 thyme sprig; 150g unsalted butter plus 1 tbsp; 400ml vegetable stock; 300g orzo; 200g chard stalks trimmed; 50g blanched hazelnuts; 4 skin-on hake fillets; 100g mascarpone; 1⁄2 lemon

Melissa Thompson – Journalist and food writer

Save recipe

Serves 4

Easy

Prep: 15 mins

Cook: 35 mins

A star rating of 4.4 out of 5.8 ratingsRate

loading...

Try something special for dinner with hake served on a bed of orzo, chard and hazelnuts. A drizzle of brown butter brings an extra-special touch

High-fibre

Skip to ingredients

Alternatives

Complete the dish

Showing items 1 to 3 of 3

Mutton chops with cumin & paprika

A star rating of 0 out of 5.0 ratings

App onlyMushroom, leek & miso spelt galette. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A star rating of 5 out of 5.3 ratings

Chocolate & orange rice pudding

A star rating of 0 out of 5.0 ratings

Ingredients

Nutrition

Units:

MetricUS

4 tbsp rapeseed oil
1 onion

finely chopped
1 carrot

finely chopped
1 celery stick

finely chopped
1 garlic clove

crushed or finely grated
1 thyme sprig
150g unsalted butter

plus 1 tbsp
400ml vegetable stock
300g orzo
200g chard

stalks trimmed
50g blanched hazelnuts
4 skin-on hake fillets
100g mascarpone
1⁄2 lemon

Keep the screen awake with cook mode on the Good Food app.

Nutrition: Per serving

kcal1021
fat68g
saturates31g
carbs65g
sugars8g
fibre6g

high
protein34g
salt0.9g

Method

step 1

Heat half the oil in a lidded frying pan over a medium heat and fry the onion, carrot and celery for 15 mins. Add the garlic, thyme, 1 tbsp butter and some seasoning and cook for another 5 mins. Add the stock and the orzo, then cover and simmer for 15-20 mins until the orzo is tender. Remove from the heat, then remove and discard the thyme. Arrange the chard on top of the orzo, cover again and leave the leaves to steam in the residual heat.
step 2

Toast the hazelnuts in a dry frying pan over a medium heat for 5 mins, then remove from the heat and leave to cool slightly. Roughly chop.
step 3

Pat the hake dry on both sides, and season the skin with a pinch of salt. Heat the remaining oil in a non-stick ovenproof frying pan over a medium heat and fry the hake, skin-side down, for 4 mins without turning – when ready, it should move in the pan easily without sticking. Turn the fillets over and cook for 2-4 mins until just cooked through and lightly golden.
step 4

Wipe out the pan and melt the 150g butter over a medium heat. Keep an eye on it – it will bubble and turn golden brown, but don’t let it burn. As the bubbles subside and the butter begins to smell nutty, remove from the heat and immediately pour into a heatproof bowl. Set aside.
step 5

Divide the orzo between four bowls and arrange the chard leaves around the edge of each one. Spoon over the mascarpone and top with the hake. Squeeze over the lemon, drizzle over the brown butter and top with the chopped hazelnuts. Serve immediately.

Recipe tip

Brown butter is easy to make, and brings an extra-special touch to your cooking. Its nuttiness enhances the flavour of the hazelnuts, too.

Recipe from Good Food magazine, February 2023

Comments, questions and tips

Rate this recipe

What is your star rating out of 5?1 star out of 52 stars out of 53 stars out of 54 stars out of 55 stars out of 5

Choose the type of message you'd like to post

CommentQuestionTip

Overall rating

A star rating of 4.4 out of 5.8 ratings

Get 3 months of Good Food All Access

Get 3 months of Good Food All Access for just £6. Find triple-tested recipes that take the stress out of deciding what to cook, spend less time planning, and more time enjoying the season.

Subscribe now