Fried hake & Red bean salad

Since I was a kid my parents made it crucial to eat fish at least once a week. Both of my grandfathers were from the seaside so a big part of my family is too. At the seaside in Croatia people eat a lot of fish, olive oil and all the amazing Mediterranean food. I love fish because not only is it good for health, it is light and goes well with so many different vegetables.

Fried hake is not something I usually make because it involves frying which is not as healthy and grilled fish with rosemary and olive oil is more of my thing. In this case fried hake goes so well with delicious lamb’s lettuce and red beans in aceto balsamico and pumpkin oil. The combination is somewhat unusual, but don’t judge before you try it.

Hope that you’ll love it as much as I do!

Preparation: 25 min                                   Cook time: 15 min                                          Servings: 4

Ingredients

• 4 hake fillets
• 4 tbsp flour
• 1 egg
• 3 tbsp milk
• bread crumbs, to cover the fillets
• 300 g red beans, cooked
• 1/2 red onion, sliced
• 200 g lambs lettuce
• aceto balsamico to season
• pumpkin oil to season
• 2 basil leaves, sliced
• salt & pepper to taste
• 4 tbsp sour cream
• 1 tsp lemon
• 1/2 tsp mustard
• 1 tsp capers
• oil for frying

How to

1. Season the fillets with salt & pepper. Cover them in flour, then dip them in egg and milk mixture and finish by covering them in bread crumbs. Fry the hake fillets until golden and crispy.
2. In a salad bowl mix together red beans, sliced red onion and lambs lettuce. In a small bowl mix together pumpkin oil, aceto balsamico, sliced basil leaves, salt & pepper and season the salad.
3. In a small bowl stir together sour cream, lemon, mustard, capers and a pinch of salt.
4. Serve the fried hake with red bean salad and sour cream dressing.