Merluza en salsa verde — hake and clams in parsley sauce

Keep the clams refrigerated in a ventilated container under a damp cloth until cooking; do not seal them airtight and do not keep them submerged in water. Just before cooking, briefly rinse the shells under cold running water and scrub away dirt with a brush. Discard clams with cracked shells and any open ones that do not close when gently tapped. We use clams already depurated by the supplier, so this recipe does not include purging them at home.

Pat the four hake portions, about 3 cm thick, dry and remove any remaining bones you can feel with fish tweezers. Season the fish with 3 g salt and refrigerate while preparing the sauce. Finely chop the garlic and parsley. Prepare a pot with a lid for the clams and a wide, deep pan with a lid, about 28 cm in diameter, that holds the fish in a single layer.

Pour 100 ml stock into the pot and bring to a boil. Add the clams, cover and wait for vigorous steaming to return, then cook with the lid on for about 5–7 minutes, shaking the pot once or twice, until the shells open and the flesh is cooked. Discard clams that remain closed; transfer the cooked open ones to a clean bowl and cover loosely while the fish cooks. Strain all the liquid from the pot through a fine sieve lined with clean, dense, closely woven cheesecloth to catch sand, and reserve it for the sauce.

Heat all the oil in the wide pan over low heat, add the garlic and stir for about 1 minute, until fragrant but not brown. Add the flour and stir for about 1 more minute. Pour in the wine and cook without a lid for about 2–3 minutes, then gradually stir in the remaining 200 ml stock and all the strained clam liquid. Add 10 g parsley and simmer gently for about 3 minutes, until the sauce thickens slightly but stays fluid.

Arrange the hake skin-side down in a single layer and spoon a few tablespoons of sauce from the pan over the portions. Wait for the gentle simmer to return, cover with the lid slightly ajar and cook over low heat for about 10–12 minutes. The fish should be cooked through and separate gently into flakes; thicker portions may need a few minutes longer. Instead of turning the delicate fillets, spoon sauce over them from time to time.

Place the cooked clams between the fish portions, add any liquid from the clean bowl and heat with the lid on for about 1–2 minutes, until hot. Add the remaining 10 g parsley, taste the sauce and season with some of the measured salt if needed. Serve one skin-on hake portion per person, dividing all the edible clams and all the sauce among four plates. The shells are for presentation only and are not edible.