Mark Birchall's roast Cornish hake with brown crab and grilled chorizo and asparagus

Designed to pair with the flavours of Estrella Damm, this recipe brings three-Michelin-star dining to your kitchen

Mark Birchall's hake with brown crab and grilled chorizo and asparagus; Mark Birchall

Published: Wednesday 26th March 2025

Serves 1

Preparation time 1 hour

Cooking time 1.5 hours

There's nothing better than pouring a cold beer on a warm day. Actually – scratch that, there's something slightly better; pouring a cold beer on a warm day to eat with a bright, vibrant seafood dish. 

Want to take the whole experience up a notch? Make that seafood dish a recipe from Mark Birchall, chef patron of the recently-gilded three-Michelin-star Moor Hall in Lancashire. Combining the rich flavours of brown crab with hake and a piquant hit of chorizo, Birchall says this dish is inspired by the delicate flavours of Estrella Damm. "Its mild floral hops, lightly toasted lager malt and subtle spiced and fruity aromas guided the way I approached this recipe, pairing fresh Cornish hake with ingredients that complement those light, aromatic qualities," he says. "Asparagus is just coming into season here in the UK, bringing a fresh, grassy sweetness that works beautifully with the fish. We’ve grilled it alongside chorizo for depth and a touch of smokiness, while a rich brown crab sauce ties everything together."

Meanwhile, Nathan Crouch, Estrella Damm quality trainer says the beer's "lively acidity complements the rich oily notes in the fish, and the fine bubbles help refresh the palate, cutting through the creamy sauce between each bite. The hints of toasted grain give new depth to the harmony between roast hake and grilled asparagus, while the lightness of body ensures it won’t overwhelm the more subtle flavours within the tapestry of herbs that dress the crab sauce." 

A match made in heaven – pour a cold Estrella Damm and get the pans going. 

Ingredients

Celeriac Puree

  • 1 celeriac
  • 30g of butter
  • 100g water
  • 100ml of whipping cream

Crab Stock

  • 2kg roasted crab heads
  • 4 litres water
  • 50g lardo, diced
  • 50g caramelised diced celery, onion, leek & carrot

Crab Sauce

  • 225g crab stock
  • 75g mussel or fish Stock
  • 50g tomato juice
  • 17g Noilly Prat
  • 17g brandy
  • 30g fennel finely sliced
  • 1g fennel seeds
  • 1g coriander seeds
  • 1/2 star anise
  • 7g tarragon
  • 4g fennel tops
  • 1/4 red chilli sliced
  • 20g butter

Whipped Butter

  • 20g diced shallot
  • 25g Noilly Prat
  • 15g roasted garlic
  • 35g double cream
  • 250g butter

Chorizo & asparagus

  • 20 spears of asparagus
  • 100g diced chorizo
  • White and brown Crab Mixture
  • 150g white crab meat
  • 150g brown crab meat
  • 2 x eggs, boiled for 4 minutes
  • Lemon juice
  • Tabasco
  • 100ml grapeseed Oil

Hake

  • 600g hake loin

Method

Celeriac Puree

  • Peel and thinly slice 1 celeriac.
  • Cook in a large pan with 30g of butter and 100g water covered with a lid.
  • When the celeriac is soft and all the water has evaporated, add 100ml of whipping cream and cook further until the cream has reduced and the mixture looks glossy.
  • Blend until smooth and season with salt.

Crab Suquet-style sauce

Part one: Crab Stock

  • Combine all, bring to the boil and simmer for two hours.
  • Skim any impurities during the cooking time and strain.
  • Return to a pan and reduce by 50%. Continue to skim and reserve.

Part two: Crab Sauce

  • Add the butter to a sauté pan and foam.
  • Add the fennel and spices and cook for one minute followed by the noilly prat and brandy – reduce until almost all the liquid has gone.
  • Add the tomato juice and crab / mussel stock.
  • Bring to a simmer then add the rest of the ingredients and infuse for five minutes. Strain.

Whipped Butter

  • Sweat the shallot in a pan then add the Noilly Prat and cook out until almost gone.
  • Add the roasted garlic and cream and reduce by half.
  • Whip the butter until white then add the reduced shallot mixture and chill.

Part four: finish the sauce

  • Take the finished sauce from ‘part two’ and warm in a saucepan.
  • Season with a touch of salt and lemon verbena vinegar (lemon juice is fine as an alternative) and blend with a hand blender and a spoon of the roast garlic butter to foam the sauce up a little.

White and Brown Crab Mixture

  • Hand blend the eggs with the brown crab meat slowly adding the grapeseed oil to make a mayonnaise consistency.
  • Season with salt, lemon juice and tabasco.
  • Add the white crab to the brown crab mayonnaise.

Hake cooking time and temp

  • Brine a 150g portion of hake loin for 3 minutes in a 10% brine solution (50g of sea salt dissolved in 500ml of water).
  • Dry on paper to remove brine.
  • Pan fry with rapeseed oil until golden then transfer to deep tray with filled brown butter and bake
  • for 12 minutes in the oven at 48 ̊c

Asparagus spears with chorizo

  • Snap off the woody ends of the asparagus and discard.
  • Peel the spears, leaving the top 4 cm intact.
  • Bring a large pan of salted water to a boil.
  • Blanch the asparagus for 4–6 minutes, depending on thickness, until firm but not crunchy.
  • Transfer immediately to ice water to stop the cooking process.
  • Gently warm the chorizo in a saute pan to release some of the natural fat.
  • Add the cooked asparagus and lightly roast. Season with salt and serve as a side dish.

Dish assembly

  • Spoon the celeriac puree onto the middle of the plate and place the hake on top.
  • Spoon a generous amount of crab on top of the hake with a couple of slices of the pancetta.
  • Garnish with garden greens. Pour the crab suquet sauce over.
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