Pescado en Amarillo Gaditano

Pescado en amarillo is gaditano, from Cádiz: thick pieces of hake, potatoes, and peas in a light yellow sauce scented with saffron and a little turmeric. There is no tomato hiding beneath the colour. This is an Atlantic fish cazuela, economical enough for a weekday and generous enough to put in the middle of the table.

Begin with the sofrito, the slow onion base. Cook it low until the onion is deep gold, soft, and sweet before the wine goes in. That gives the broth its foundation, but the step that decides the dish comes later: the potatoes must be nearly tender before you add the hake. Fish does not wait politely while a hard potato finishes cooking.

Once the hake is in, keep the sauce at the barest simmer. A rolling boil breaks the flesh into dry flakes and clouds the yellow broth. Cover the pan, give it five to seven minutes, then let the remaining heat finish the centre. Shake the cazuela gently instead of stirring through the fish.

No hace falta haber pisado España. If hake is scarce where you are, use thick pieces of fresh cod or pollock. Cod is firmer and a little richer; pollock is leaner and needs checking a minute sooner. Frozen peas are entirely sensible, and hake frozen at sea can be excellent once thawed slowly and dried well. The line in my margin says, "the fish waits outside until the potato is ready." Siempre sale, si lo sigues.