Yesterday, I decided to challenge myself. While at my local farmer’s market, I stopped by the guy who sells fresh seafood. As I approached the stall, I had no idea what to buy and asked a few people (including the vendor) what they thought would be easy for someone who rarely cooks fish to try. The recommended hake, a relative of the cod family.
I then stopped at another stall to pick up some fresh veggies and mentioned my purchase to the lady selling me the baby spinach. She recommended stuffing the fish with veggies and cook in butter, olive oil, and lemon juice (along with some wine, but I forgot that part).
I had to try it.
The night before I had put together a cucumber lemon lime water infusion, so the light stuffed baked fish sounded like a great pairing option.
Here’s how that turned out.
The Drink:
What you’ll need: 
- 1/2 a large cucumber
- 1 lemon
- 1 lime
I split this recipe between two water jugs, but it’s up to you how much to add. Chop everything up into thin slices and allow to infuse for at minimum 8 hours or over night. I left mine for about 24 hours and it is very flavorful.
The Food:
What you’ll need: 
- A hake fillet or 2
- Fresh baby spinach
- 1/2 a small onion
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 1/2 a lemon
- 1 Tbs butter
- 2 Tbs olive oil
- Fresh parsley
- Paprika
- Salt
- Pepper
Preheat your oven to 350°F.
Dice and mince your onions and garlic. In a skillet, melt the butter with olive oil and add in the onions and garlic. Saute for a few minutes until the onions are translucent. Rinse off your spinach and dry well.
Roll out the hake fillets. If they are very big, you can cut them in half. Salt and pepper both sides of the hake. Place the cleaned baby spinach into the middle of the hake fillet with a few spoonfuls of the onions and garlic from the skillet. Roll up the fillets and either place seam down on your baking sheet or cooking dish or stick tooth picks into the fillets and then place them in the baking dish.
Pour the extra butter and olive oil sauce on top with juice from half a lemon. Then, sprinkle with paprika and fresh parsley leaves. Tightly place aluminum foil over the fish.
Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until the fish is white and flaky. Test the flakiness with a fork. I accidentally overcooked one of my fillets, but overall still excellent.
I recommend serving this dish with brown rice.
The Pairing:
All around light, buttery with plenty of citrus notes. Paprika adds an extra little kick to the meal. The water is prefect for a hot day when you don’t want anything too sweet in your stomach. Overall excellent!
Level of Recommendation: Meal for a hot day in the summer.
Cooking with Spirits 