William Gleave’s recipes for Catalan fish salad and fried salted hake

Salt-cured fish shines in these distinctly Iberian late-summer dishes

Salted fish, and salted hake in particular, reminds me of holidays. It’s very popular in southern Europe, where there are hundreds of recipes to choose from. The salting draws out some of the water and improves the fish’s flavour and texture, and it’s a method that pre-dates refrigeration, when salt was used to preserve food. Esqueixada is a Catalan salad of sorts that’s fresh, cooling and utterly delicious. The fried hake, meanwhile, is a little heavier, but addictive and perfect for sharing with a cold aperitif. Both are regulars on our summer menu, and we often flip between the two.