Pan Fried Hake with Garlic Spinach and Lemon

Name: Pan Fried Hake with Garlic Spinach and Lemon
Total time: 25 min
Cuisine: Spanish
Ingredients: 4 white fish fillets, hake, skin on, about 150 g each; 3 tbsp olive oil; 500g baby spinach; 3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced; 0.5 tsp smoked paprika; 0.25 tsp dried chilli flakes; 1 lemon, cut into wedges; 2 tbsp flat leaf parsley, chopped; 0.75 tsp salt

Crisp skinned hake with garlicky spinach and a squeeze of lemon. A simple Spanish style fish supper in 25 minutes.

Time25 min
LevelEasy
Costabout £2.75 a head

Cost is worked out from Aldi and Tesco shelf prices in October 2026. Your shop and brands will differ.

Estimated nutrition per serving

347kcal
8.6gcarbs
4.9gof which sugars
21.4gfat
5.6gsaturates
32.1gprotein
3.6gfibre
1.7gsalt

A rough estimate worked out from the ingredients, for the serving size above. It is a guide only and not medical advice. If you count carbs or manage diabetes, check with your own tools and your care team.

4 servings

Ingredients

Tick what you need to buy. It goes on your shopping list.

4white fish filletshake, skin on, about 150 g each
3 tbspolive oil
500 gbaby spinach
3garlic clovesthinly sliced
½ tspsmoked paprika
¼ tspdried chilli flakes
1lemoncut into wedges
2 tbspflat leaf parsleychopped
¾ tspsalt

Method

1
Take the fish out of the fridge 10 minutes before cooking. Pat the skin very dry with kitchen paper and season both sides with half the salt.
2
Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a large non stick frying pan over a medium high heat. Lay the fillets in skin side down, press gently with a fish slice for 10 seconds so they do not curl, then cook for 4 minutes without moving them, until the skin is golden and crisp.
4 min
3
Turn the fish and cook for 2 to 3 minutes more, until the flesh is opaque and flakes easily. Move to a warm plate and cover loosely.
4
Wipe the pan, add the last tablespoon of oil and the garlic, and cook over a low heat for 1 minute until pale gold. Do not let it go brown or it turns bitter.
5
Add the paprika and chilli, then the spinach in handfuls, turning it as it wilts. It takes about 2 minutes. Season with the rest of the salt and drain off any extra liquid.
6
Spoon the spinach onto plates, sit the hake on top, and finish with parsley and a lemon wedge.

Double check before you cook. Recipes can contain mistakes. Any diet labels come from the ingredients as written in this recipe and are a guide, not a guarantee. Always check every ingredient and the packet label for allergens and cross contamination, and ask your doctor or dietitian what is right for you, especially with coeliac disease, diabetes or a serious allergy. This is not medical advice.