
Heck is… so prosaic! Well, just think about what this fish looks like — always headless, frozen-frozen, gray, unsightly … What can you cook from this? ..

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Meanwhile, hake is a healthy, nutritious and very tasty fish. A little skill — and it is easy to turn it into a true culinary masterpiece. But the name, the name! .. So let’s change it, let’s call hake … hake. No deceit, no fraud: hake — he is hake, European hake. Let’s get to know this fish better!
Where does hake come from?
Hake, also known as hake, lives in the Atlantic, the Mediterranean and Black Seas, is caught in the Bay of Biscay — the fish, one might say, is ubiquitous. And not so ugly. The body of the hake is elongated, silvery in color, with very, very small scales. We are accustomed to seeing small hake carcasses, but this fish can be quite large, up to 1 meter long. Hake meat is lean, rather tender and almost boneless. The fish is ideal for frying and baking.
Why hake is always on sale without a head?
Hake is a predatory fish, with a large head, with a toothy mouth. And the point is not that her teeth are large and sharp, the point is in the head itself: it is simply gigantic in this fish, it accounts for almost a third of the entire length of the fish. Accordingly, the hake’s head weighs a lot. What is the use of the head of a fish if it is most often thrown away during cutting? But during transportation, storage with big-headed fish there will be more trouble, more weight — a pure logistics issue. In addition, the freshness of headless fish is much easier to maintain. Therefore, freshly caught hake is decapitated immediately after the catch — for reasons of economic feasibility.
Hake: calories
The average nutritional value of a hake looks like this:
- 18.3 g protein
- 1.3 g fat
- 0.2 mg Omega‑3
Hake calorie per 100 g — 85 kcal. But this is in fish that has undergone a very gentle heat treatment. For example, a hake steam cutlet will already contain 96–100 kcal, and a fried hake will pull on all 105–115 kcal.
Hake meat is quite fatty, tender, white, it has few bones and after minimal heat treatment it is easily separated from the skeleton fillet. Add to this the presence of a large amount of vitamins and microelements in fish — and you have an excellent product for baby and diet food.
Heka composition
This marine fish contains an almost complete list of the elements of the periodic table: calcium, zinc, magnesium, sodium, iron, copper, manganese, chlorine, nickel and cobalt, iodine … The list of vitamins is no less impressive: A, C, E, D, PP , almost all B vitamins. To all this, proteins and omega‑3 fatty acids are added. The highest concentration in hake meat is fluorine, sulfur, potassium and phosphorus (more than 200 mg per 100 g of meat) and vitamin PP (4.3 mg per 100 g of meat).
But there are practically no carbohydrates in hake, no matter how you cook it.

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The benefits of fish: hake
Like any marine fish, hake contains many nutrients and, of course, is a component of many types of diet food.
Hake is recommended for those who suffer from thyroid diseases. The high content of iodine in fish helps restore the balance of iodine in the body, improve the functioning of the gland and restore hormonal levels.
Hake is also useful in diabetes, as it can normalize blood sugar levels.
Fish is advised to include in the diet of those suffering from disorders of the cardiovascular system. The presence of potassium, magnesium and sodium in it has a beneficial effect on the state of blood vessels and helps regulate blood pressure. Also, the use of this fish has a positive effect on the functioning of the nervous system.
Hake will also be useful for those who have digestive problems, in particular people with metabolic disorders. And one more plus: hake stimulates the body’s cleansing processes and can be included in a detox diet.
Who can’t eat hake
In moderation, the use of hake does not threaten anything. However, there are still some contraindications for use. First of all, hake, like any sea fish, is undesirable on the table for an allergic person. At the very least, hake should be used very carefully.
Do not eat hake for those who suffer from constipation. Fish contains a lot of iron, and this element just helps to hold the stomach together.
Is it possible to use hake for pregnant and lactating women?
Like any fish, it is not only possible, but necessary. Of course, you should adhere to reasonable volumes and take into account the individual characteristics of your body.
How to choose hake?
Hake comes to our retail chains frozen. When choosing fish, you should choose an intact carcass covered with a uniform, not too thick layer of ice. It should be borne in mind that hake is a delicate fish, easily losing its natural taste and smell, so it should be cooked immediately after purchase, avoiding re-freezing.

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hake recipes
Hake (recall, he is hake) is a truly universal fish. It is great in stews, in fish soups, it can be fried, baked, grilled … But it should be noted that it is somewhat dry, so a drop of good oil, best of all butter, will not hurt him at all.
Poached hake with eggs and carrots with aioli sauce
Cooking time: 1 h 30 min.
For 4 servings:
- 4 portions of hake (200 g each)
- 800 g young carrots
- 4 eggs
- 50 ml white wine vinegar
- 30 g butter
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 bunch of fragrant herbs
- salt pepper
- For the aioli sauce:
- 1 yolk
- 1 st. l. medium spicy mustard
- 100 ml vegetable oil
- 2 garlic cloves
- salt pepper
Peel the carrots, wash and cut into lengthwise quarters. Melt the butter in a saucepan, put the carrots, salt, pepper and sprinkle with cumin. Pour in enough water to cover the vegetables. Cover the saucepan with a sheet of aluminum foil and cook the carrots for 15 minutes over medium heat: the vegetables should remain slightly crispy.
Prepare the aioli. Peel and chop the garlic. In a convenient bowl, grind the yolk with mustard and garlic. Pouring vegetable oil in a thin stream, beat until a homogeneous mass of sour cream consistency is obtained.
Prepare poached eggs. In a saucepan, bring to a boil a sufficient amount of water with vinegar and a pinch of salt. Prepare a ladle and grease it with a little oil. Release 1 egg into a ladle, lower into a pot of boiling water and cook for 3 minutes. Transfer the poached egg to a paper towel. Cook the remaining eggs in the same way.
Bring a sufficient amount of water to a boil in a saucepan, add a bunch of fragrant herbs, salt and pepper to taste. Put the pieces of fish into the water, reduce the heat to a minimum and cook the fish for 8–10 minutes.
Arrange the poached fish with a slotted spoon on portioned plates. Add carrots, poached eggs and a little aioli sauce to the fish.
Hake baked in bacon
Cooking time: 1 hour
In 4 parts:
- 2 hake fillets without skins (400 g each)
- 1/2 bunch of parsley
- 10 thin slices smoked bacon
- vegetable oil, salt, pepper
Heat the oven to 200°C.
Wash parsley, sort, dry, finely chop and mix with 3 tbsp. l. vegetable oil.
Arrange the bacon slices on a work surface to form a rectangular layer. Spread the layer with parsley oil.
Salt and pepper the hake fillet and put it on a layer of bacon with parsley. Wrap the fish in bacon, forming a baguette, and fix it tightly with kitchen string.
Transfer the fish in bacon to a baking sheet lined with parchment and bake for 20–25 minutes.
Steamed hake rolls with vanilla
Cooking time: 40 min.
For 4 servings
- 4 hake fillets
- 2 tbsp. l. vegetable oil
- 1 vanilla pod
- salt, hot pepper
- For sauce:
- 3 onions
- 350 ml dry white wine
- 90 g butter
- lemon juice
- 1/2 h. l. Sahara
- salt pepper
For the sauce 2 onions, peeled, chopped, pour wine, bring to a boil and reduce the liquid by three quarters. Remove sauce from heat, add oil and beat well. Salt and pepper the sauce to taste, add sugar and lemon juice.
Rinse the fish, pat dry and cut each fillet in half lengthwise. Break the vanilla pod in half lengthwise, scrape out the contents and mix with vegetable oil. Drizzle the fish with vanilla oil, roll the halves of the fillet into rolls and fix with skewers or pieces of vanilla bean.
Peel and chop the remaining onion. Place the fish rolls and onions in a steamer basket lined with parchment and cook for 5–7 minutes.

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Crumble with hake and leeks
Cooking time: 1 h 20 min.
For 4 servings:
- 400 g hake without skin and bones
- 300 ml milk
- 2 stalks of leeks
- 200 ml liquid sour cream
- 1 bulb
- 15 g butter
- salt pepper
- For crumbly dough (crumble):
- 150 g flour
- 100 g butter
- 40 g seed mixture (sunflower, flax, poppy, sesame)
Dilute milk with 200 ml of water, bring to a boil in a saucepan and reduce heat. Put fish in milk and cook for 5 minutes. Transfer the boiled fish to another bowl.
Heat the oven up to 180°C.
In a deep bowl, mix the flour with the seeds, add a pinch of salt and pepper, put the butter and knead everything with your hands into small crumbs.
Rinse the leek thoroughly and cut into thin circles. Prepared leeks blanch in boiling salted water for 3 minutes and put on a sieve.
Peel the onion and chop finely. In a saucepan in butter, fry the onion until transparent, add the leek, pour in the sour cream, salt and pepper to taste.
Warm up the mass well and distribute it among 4 portion molds. Put a slice (approx. 100 g) of fish into each mold and cover with a crumbly dough. Bake products for 25 minutes: the crumble should be well browned.
Serve the finished crumble warm with a salad of fresh vegetables.
Hake in complex breading
Cooking time: 40 min.
For 4 servings:
- 600 g hake fillet without skin and bones
- 100 g stale white bread
- 100 g of grated parmesan
- 5–6 sprigs of parsley
- 60 g chopped hazelnuts
- 2 eggs
- 80 g flour
- 30 g butter
- 3 art. l. vegetable oil
Heat the oven up to 180°C. Divide the fish into 4 portions. Crush the bread into crumbs. Rinse the parsley, pat dry and finely chop. Mix parmesan with breadcrumbs, parsley and nuts, add salt and pepper to taste and pour onto a flat plate.
Pour flour into another flat plate. Whisk the eggs in a separate bowl. Dip fish in flour, dip in egg and coat with breadcrumbs.
Heat vegetable oil and butter in a frying pan and fry the fish for 3–4 minutes on each side. Bake the fried fish in the oven for 5–10 minutes.
Arrange the fish on serving plates. Serve hot with fresh vegetable salad and potato garnish.
The opinion of the editors may not coincide with the opinion of the author of the article.