‘Blast From the Past’ Recipe

Menu Mistress

Hake with Bacon, Peas and Cider (Serves 4)

I first shared this recipe, from Nigella Lawson’s cookbook ‘At My Table’, in 2021. It’s a wonderfully quick dish, all cooked in the same pan – ideal for a midweek meal! (You can easily substitute the hake for another firm white fish of you choice).

4 Hake fillets (or other white firm fish), skin on – about 200g each

Olive oil

130g streaky bacon, snipped into 1cm strips

400g frozen petits pois

500ml dry cider

Large bunch of parsley, finely chopped

Sea salt and black pepper

  1. Heat a little olive oil in a pan (with a lid), fry the bacon until crisped and golden, then add the frozen peas, give them a good stir.
  2. Pour in the cider and bring to the boil, then turn it down to a simmer for about 5 minutes, until the peas are cooked. Add a little salt and pepper to taste.
  3. Add the fish, skin side down, to the pan and cover with a lid, allow to gently simmer for about 10 minutes until just cooked.
  4. Place each fillet on a plate. Stir most of the parsley through the peas and bacon in the pan (check the seasoning), then spoon it around the fish along with the lovely cidery juices. Sprinkle with the remaining parsley and serve – simply steamed new potatoes are delicious with this dish!

Menu Mistress will by away next week,

I’ll be back with new, delicious recipes at the beginning of July!..

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Published by Menu Mistress

Cooking has always been something I've enjoyed, I have an extensive collection of cookbooks, some are well thumbed whilst others collect dust on the shelves; I can’t bear to get rid of any cook book, just in case one day I might use it for that one obscure recipe - light on a rainy day! I enjoy eating out and discovering new flavours, whether it’s just a local haunt or a ‘dress up’ to dinner restaurant - food is my hobby! In my opinion food is the one of the most important pieces of knowledge you need to know about any culture in order to really understand it, so when we go away, it’s not the local sights that I’m googling but the best place to eat! I'm not one of those fortunate cooks who can throw something together by looking at the contents of their fridge, I need a plan to work with, then I organise my fridge around the recipe. I am however a very organised person, you might even call me a control freak! I love the orderly fashion of a recipe, I find it soothing to have a plan in front of me, so the thought of trawling through my recipe books and trying new recipes is my idea of a perfect afternoon. But I realise that this is not everyones idea of fun, hence the birth of this blog. This blog is essentially for people who adore food but don’t have the time, patience or energy to search through cook books to find that winning recipe – that’s the job of Menu Mistress!

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