Tom Brown's hake kiev with pesto butter and hollandaise
He’s the master of cooking seafood and just been announced as GQ’s chef of the year, Tom is back in our kitchen with his spin on a classic - Tom's Hake Kievs are the embodiment of comfort food! Think oozing garlic pesto butter, drizzled with hollandaise - just what you need to start the week.
Serves: 4
Ingredients
For the Hake
4 x 120g portions of hake fillet (skinned and pin boned)
100g plain flour
1 egg, beaten
100g panko breadcrumbs
For the butter...
30g toasted pine nuts
36g grated Parmesan
1 clove garlic (finely crushed)
4 tbsp finely chopped basil
1 tsp table salt
250g unsalted butter, softened
For the hollandaise...
3 egg yolks
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1 tbsp white wine vinegar
300ml light olive oil
50ml extra virgin olive oil
1/2 a lemon
Oil for deep frying
Method
1. To make the pesto butter, blend the pine nuts, Parmesan, garlic, basil, salt and the butter together in a food processor until evenly incorporated and smooth then set aside to cool in the fridge
2. Slice along the side of the hake portions 3/4 of the way through horizontally to butterfly them and open out
3. Spoon in some of the butter mix and fold back over to seal it all in
4. Wrap tightly in cling film then leave to set in the fridge for around an hour at least, overnight is fine
5. When set, unwrap the fish portions from the cling film and run through the flour, then beaten egg, then panko, then back into the egg, then panko to “double breadcrumb“ them (this will help to ensure the butter doesn’t leak out).
6. To make the hollandaise mix the yolks, mustard, vinegar and 1 tbsp of cold water together in a metal bowl with a good pinch of sea salt
7. Place into a bain marie over a low heat and whisk constantly until it becomes light, fluffy, and full of air. You should be able to trace a figure of 8 on it and it stays.
8. Remove from the heat and slowly drip the oils in together to emulsify and make a glossy sauce
9. Add the lemon and set aside somewhere a little over room temperature
10. Preheat the oil in a deep fryer to 180c and your oven to 200c and drop the Kiev’s in the oil for 2-3 mins until golden brown and crispy. Remove with a slotted spoon and place on a baking tray then place into the oven for 3-4 mins until hot and thoroughly cooked through.
11. Serve with a large spoon of the hollandaise and chips and peas if liked and enjoy