Hake stuffed with ham and cheese in breadcrumbs “Bella Easo” style recipe
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Total: 30 min Diners: 4
In Spain, hake is the most consumed and admired fish despite the fact that there are still people who say “it doesn’t taste like anything”. It is juicy, pearly and, it must be said, very easy to mistreat if it dries out too much during cooking, which is the mistake we most often make.
The mythical preparations of the great Basque chefs defend tooth and nail this fish, native to our coasts and which has fed us so much since time immemorial. Literally. Since we are small, it is perhaps the first variety of the sea that arrives to our plate: cooked and with a little salt. Also preparation for when you have a little regular gut.
The options with it are endless: a good loin of hake in green sauce with clams, casserole, Biscayan style, Bilbao style, with tomato, battered or pickled. Every delicious sauce has a place here and they are fantastic and delicious ways to devour this true Atlantic jewel whose quality we should always look for, it will be key to an optimal result.
In this case, it is a merluza “bella easo”, a different stuffed recipe in which the fish itself acts as a booklet to wrap a delicious and melting heart of ham and cheese. Who hasn’t eaten battered hake at home? I must admit that for my birthday my mother would take a leap and buy at Ernesto Prieto some medallions or “delights” as they called it and it was the party dish.
It is one of those classic dishes that taste like glory. A fun and different way to eat this fish (or any other) in which you just have to keep in mind that you have to remove the skin and close it with chopsticks so it does not fall apart.
Tasty and rich, you can fill it with anything, not forgetting that cheese is always a good choice because it melts and the party is mounted. Why is called “Bella Easo” to this hake stuffed with ham and cheese? Well, I have not been able to find the explanation but we could call it “hake sandwich” and it would be not so glamorous but much more reliable.
Hake stuffed with ham and cheese
Ingredients
. Hake supremes, 4 pcs (180 g each) Slices of cooked ham, 2 pcs Slices of havarti cheese, 2 pcs Eggs, 2 u Flour, 100 g Mild olive oil, abundant for frying Salt, c/s
It is highly recommended to freeze the hake beforehand to avoid possible anisakis problems. To do this it is best to clean the hake loins by removing the skin and possible bones, cover with kitchen paper and film. Freeze for at least 7 days and then defrost gradually in the refrigerator for 24 hours so that the product suffers as little as possible.
Step 1
Open the hake in half, I recommend leaving the final area, like a book, so that the filling does not crumble too much when it comes to breading.
Add salt to the hake meat, inside and out, and fill with the cooked ham and cheese and close well. We can help us with some toothpicks so that our stuffed hake does not disassemble at any time.
Step 2
In a frying pan heat plenty of soft olive oil to fry the hake.
Step 3
Dip the stuffed hake in flour all over and then in beaten egg, making sure it is well coated.
Step 4
Fry each piece of stuffed hake over medium heat so that it is browned on the outside but cooked on the inside, on both sides when one is already colored. You will have to turn it over and I recommend also with the help of a skimmer to pour the oil over the hake.
Step 5
Remove the hake to a paper towel to drain the excess oil and serve immediately, removing the toothpicks first.
