Seafood nuggets with fish and rice
Para 4 1.60 €/pers. 220 kcal/100g.
- For the nuggets:
- 400g of skinless and boneless hake fillets
- 70g of round rice
- 50g of onion
- 1 clove of garlic (about 5 g)
- 5g of fresh parsley
- Zest of 1/2 lemon
- 1 medium egg
- 25g of crispy breadcrumbs
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- For breading and frying:
- 40 g of wheat flour
- 1 medium egg
- 120g of crispy breadcrumbs
- 350 ml of mild olive oil for frying
- The remaining 1/2 lemon, for serving
- We wash the rice under running water until the water runs clear. We cook it following a simple white rice recipe until the grains are cooked but not mushy. We drain it well and spread it out on a plate to cool and remove excess moisture. We need cooked rice that is completely cold before mixing it with the fish.
- Peel and finely chop the onion and garlic. Heat a teaspoon of the oil from the recipe in a pan and cook the onion over medium-low heat for about 6 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for another minute. Remove from the heat and let it cool. The onion should be soft and with no visible liquid, not overly browned.
- We thoroughly dry the hake with kitchen paper and run our fingers over each fillet to check for any remaining bones. If using frozen fish, we defrost it beforehand in the refrigerator and dry it carefully. We chop it into very small pieces with a knife, without turning it into a paste. We're looking for chopped hake with some texture.
- In a bowl, combine the hake, cold rice, slightly cooled onion and garlic, chopped parsley, lemon zest, 1 egg, 25g breadcrumbs, salt, and pepper. Mix with a spoon, then with your hand until everything is well combined. When you squeeze a portion, the mixture should hold together without releasing water.
- Cover the bowl and refrigerate for 30 minutes. This resting time allows the rice and breadcrumbs to absorb the remaining moisture in the mixture, making the nuggets much easier to shape.
- We divide the dough into about 18 portions. With slightly damp hands, we shape them into nuggets: small, somewhat flattened pieces with rounded edges, without trying to make them identical. A thickness of about 2 cm allows them to brown on the outside without drying out in the center.
- We prepared three containers: one with flour, another with the second beaten egg, and another with 120g of crispy breadcrumbs. We coated each piece in flour, shook off the excess, dipped it in egg, and finished with breadcrumbs. We pressed just enough so that the coating adhered well and didn't form a thick layer.
- Heat the oil in a large frying pan. When it's hot but not smoking, fry the nuggets in small batches, leaving space between them. Cook them for about 2-3 minutes on each side, until evenly golden brown. Don't fill the pan all at once so the oil doesn't lose temperature.
- We remove them with a slotted spoon and let them drain for a few moments on paper towels or a wire rack. In a properly fried dish, the coating is dry and crispy, and the center remains juicy. We serve the nuggets hot with lemon wedges.
The rice here isn't just a side dish: it's part of the nugget. We cook it, cool it, and mix it with minced hake to create a moldable dough that doesn't require potatoes or béchamel sauce. When you bite into it, you'll find small, recognizable grains of rice mixed in with the fish, while the outside maintains a thin, crispy coating. It's a unique way of combining fish and rice without turning them into croquettes.
The texture is closer to a mini hake burger: the fish isn't pureed, but rather finely chopped to retain some fiber. The rice adds body and moisture, but we use considerably less than in rice croquettes. The hake remains the star of the show.
For the finishing touch, we use a classic breading of flour, egg, and crispy breadcrumbs. If you prefer fried fish bites, Pavía soldiers take a different approach—whole pieces of fish coated in batter—while these nuggets allow you to use fillets or boneless trimmings and give them a convenient shape for eating by hand.
