Pan-fried hake, white bean & chorizo broth
A one-pot Seafood recipe with Spanish flavors, built for busy weeknights when you want real food without a sink full of dishes. Comes together in roughly 45 minutes, serves about 4, and uses ingredients you can find at any normal grocery store. The technique is simple: build a base in your pot, layer in the main ingredients, simmer until everything has had time to talk to each other, and serve straight from the pan. If you're cooking for picky eaters, this one tends to land — the flavors are recognizable, the texture is comforting, and there's nothing weird hiding in the ingredient list. Perfect for the kind of evening where you want dinner on the table by 7pm and the kitchen empty by 7:30.
Step-by-step instructions
- Drain the beans, then tip into a large pan with 2 litres of water. Simmer with the whole garlic cloves, bay leaves and thyme for 30 mins or until cooked and tender. Remove from the heat and set aside.
- Meanwhile, heat 2 tbsp oil in a frying pan. Fry the bread with the remaining garlic clove. When golden and crisp, scoop out and drain on kitchen paper. Add the chorizo to the pan, fry until crisp, tip out and keep warm with the bread.
- Add another 2 tbsp oil and the onion to the pan, and cook for 5 mins until softened. Stir in the paprika. Drain the beans and add to the onions with the chicken stock and 2 tsp salt. Cook for 5-10 mins. Stir through the parsley and keep warm.
- Season the hake and heat the remaining 2 tbsp oil in the frying pan. Put the hake, skin-side down, in the pan and cook for 3-5 mins over a mediumhigh heat to crisp up the skin. Flip the fish over and cook for a further 3-5 mins until cooked through. Spoon the white bean mix into bowls, place the hake on top and finish with the fried bread, chorizo and a little more thyme.
Why this works on a weeknight
Pan-fried hake, white bean & chorizo broth lands at about 31 minutes total — a little longer than our 30-minute target, but most of that time is hands-off simmering, which is why it earned a spot in our Quick Soups & Stews collection. The technique is forgiving, the ingredient list is grocery-store standard, and the active cooking time is short enough that you can answer a text message in the middle without ruining dinner.
Cleanup notes
This is a single-pan recipe, so the cleanup is exactly one pan, one cutting board, and one knife. While the dish rests, fill the pan with hot soapy water — by the time you are done eating, the residue lifts off with a single pass of a sponge. Skip the steel wool on cast iron; a stiff brush and warm water are all you need to keep the seasoning intact.
Make-ahead and leftovers
Leftovers keep covered in the fridge for up to three days. Reheat in a dry pan over medium-low with a splash of water or stock to loosen the sauce. Pan-fried hake, white bean & chorizo broth actually improves overnight as the flavors keep talking to each other, so doubling the recipe and packing tomorrow's lunch is a high-leverage weeknight move.
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