Galacian-Style Fish Steaks

This is a dish that Seamus and I have been making for the past several years. Seamus in particular loves this dish, while I have always thought it was good, but not great.

Everything changed this time though, because we substituted the flat leaf parsley for cilantro. As it turns out, I don't really like parsley, and I love cilantro. For me, this substitution made all the difference, and I now love this dish just as much as Seamus does!

Galacian-Style Fish Steaks (Merluza a la Gallega)

Courtesy of "Tapas: The Little Dishes of Spain" by Penelope Casas

Ingredients
3/4 Pould potatoes, preferably red, in 1/4 inch slices
4 thin slices onion
6 gloves garlic, minced
2 sprigs parsley
Salt
1/4 teaspoon thyme
1 bay leaf
7 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon red wine vinegar
2 hake or fresh cod steaks, about 1 inch think
1/2 teaspoons paprika, preferably Spanish style

Directions
In a shallow casserole large enough to hold the fish in one layer, place the potatoes, onion, 2 cloves of the minced garlic, parsley, salt, thyme, bay leaf, 1 tablespoon olive oil, 1/2 teaspoon of the vinegar, and water to barely cover. Bring to a boil, cover, and simmer for 10 minutes, or until the potatoes are about half cooked.

Place the fish steaks over the potato mixture and add some more water to barely cover the fish. Sprinkle the fish with salt, cover, and cook for another 10 minutes, or until the potatoes and fish are done. Pour off all the liquid from the casserole. Rome the skin and bones from the fish carefully, leaving 4 fillets.

In a small skillet heat the remaining 6 tablespoons of oil, then add the remaining 4 cloves of minced garlic and saute for a minute. Turn off the heat; add the remaining vinegar and the paprika. Pour over the casserole and serve right away.