HUNGRY GERALD

Hake is a fabulous fish. BSK is a fabulous cook. When they get together in the kitchen HG is rewarded with a dazzling supper. HG has often written about hake, a fish first encountered decades ago in Madrid. For some obscure reason, one doesn’t see hake on American restaurant menus. Go figure. Knowing BSK’s tastes, HG/BSK’s local fish merchant on Prince Edward Island (HG/BSK have an oceanfront home there) is Julio. He phoned BSK and told her he just got a delivery of sparkling fresh hake. Good news. BSK covered a sheet pan with asparagus, red peppers, onions and garlic and gave it a splash of olive oil and lemon juice. It went into the oven and when the menage softened, the hake filets went on top and baked briefly. BSK’s timing was on point. The asparagus were firm and delicious and the hake–ah, the hake–was succulent. Spectacular eating. This was accompanied by rice flavored with turmeric and a bit of saffron (cannellini beans were mixed with the rice). HG/BSK drank a hearty red wine and had Canadian butter tarts for dessert. HG/BSK basked in the satisfaction of having a great supper in a gentle, diverse democracy.