Textual Chef Textual Chef

Merluza a la Sidra

An Asturian classic of hake fillets poached in dry hard cider with clams, garlic, and parsley that creates a briny, aromatic broth perfect for soaking up with crusty bread.

45 minMediumServes 4360 cal/serving

SpanishDinnerStovetopPescatarianHigh ProteinLow CarbDairy-FreeNut-FreeCorn-Free

Ingredients

  • 2 lbs hake fillets (or substitute cod or halibut), skin-on if possible
  • 1 lb littleneck or Manila clams, scrubbed
  • 1 1/2 cups dry Spanish hard cider (sidra) or dry hard cider
  • 4 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 yellow onion, finely diced
  • 6 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
  • 2 tbsp all-purpose flour
  • 1 cup fish stock or clam broth
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp black pepper, freshly ground
  • 6 tbsp fresh flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
  • 2 lemon, cut into wedges

Instructions

  1. 1

    Season 2 lbs skin-on if possible hake fillets (or substitute cod or halibut) generously with 1 1/2 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper.

  2. 2

    Heat 4 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil in a wide deep skillet over medium heat. Add 1 finely diced yellow onion and cook for 5 minutes. Add 6 cloves thinly sliced garlic and cook 1 minute.

  3. 3

    Stir in 2 tbsp all-purpose flour and cook 1 minute. Pour in 1 1/2 cups dry Spanish hard cider (sidra) or dry hard cider gradually while stirring, then add 1 cup fish stock or clam broth and 2 bay leaves. Simmer 5 minutes until slightly thickened.

  4. 4

    Place 2 lbs hake fillets (or substitute cod or halibut) skin-side down in the sauce. Add 1 lb scrubbed littleneck or Manila clams around the fish. Cover and cook for 6 to 8 minutes until 1 lb littleneck or Manila clams open and 2 lbs hake fillets (or substitute cod or halibut) is opaque and reaches 145°F (63°C). Discard any clams that did not open.

  5. 5

    Remove 2 bay leaves. Stir in most of the 6 tbsp finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley, reserving a little for garnish.

  6. 6

    Ladle into shallow bowls, scatter remaining parsley on top, and serve with 2 cut into wedges lemon.

Questions

Can I make Merluza a la Sidra gluten-free?

Yes. The gluten in this entry is 2 tbsp all-purpose flour. Swap the flour for a 1-to-1 gluten-free baking blend (where it only thickens a sauce, half as much cornstarch also works). Everything else proceeds as written.

How long does Merluza a la Sidra keep?

Refrigerate leftovers within two hours and eat them within three days. Reheat gently on the stovetop.

Can I halve or double Merluza a la Sidra?

Yes. As written it serves 4. Every ingredient in this entry carries precomputed half and double quantities, and the app's batch dial rewrites them inside each step. When doubling on the stovetop, use your widest pan or work in two batches so the food sears instead of steaming.

Serve it with

Cook this free in the app

Textual Chef is 4,504 plain-text recipes, free to read and free to cook from. No account, no paywall, no ads, no life stories. Open this one in the app and each quantity sits inside the step that uses it, so you read once and cook.

Every recipe is curated or public-domain sourced, written to one template and checked before it publishes. Nothing here is a scraped blog post.

Cook this free in the appNo download needed. It opens in your browser. The kitchen tools (planner, shopping list, pantry, import) are $5.33 a month billed annually; the first 30 days are free.

More Spanish entries

All Spanish recipes · All Dinner recipes