recipe: Moroccan fish tagine

 

Moroccan fish tagine

by Simona Carini

Prep Time: 30 minutes + time to marinate

Cook Time: 25 minutes + time to roast peppers

Keywords: stew entree fish onion tomatoes parsley Moroccan

Ingredients (Serves 4)

For chermoula

• A Meyer lemon, possibly organic
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds, toasted in a dry skillet until fragrant
• 1/2 teaspoon coriander seeds, toasted in a dry skillet until fragrant
• 1/2 teaspoon sweet smoked paprika
• 1/8 teaspoon chili pepper flakes
• A pinch saffron threads
• A good pinch of fine sea salt
• 2 packed cups of fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves
• 1 tablespoon / 15 ml extra-virgin olive oil

For the fish

• 1 batch of chermoula
• 1 1/2 pounds / 680 g fillet of lingcod or Pacific cod or similar fish, 1/2 to 1 inch / 1.25 to 2.5 cm thick
• 2 sweet peppers
• 1 tablespoon / 15 ml extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 onion (6 ounces / 170 g), finely chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 cups / 475 ml strained roasted tomatoes
• 2 tablespoons flaked almonds, toasted in a dry skillet until golden
• 1 teaspoon / 5 ml orange zest (possibly from an organic orange)
• 2 tablespoons / 30 ml finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• Fine sea salt, to taste

Instructions

Make chermoula

Grate the lemon zest into a mortar. Add the garlic, spices and salt, and grind with a pestle until well combined.

Juice the lemon. Add the parsley, lemon juice and olive oil to the mortar and grind until you obtain a paste.

Use immediately or store in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Use within a couple of days.

Prepare the fish

About 4 hours before cooking the tagine, rub the fish with chermoula and refrigerate until needed.

Roast the sweet peppers

Preheat the oven to 375 F / 190 C.

Place the peppers on a baking sheet lined with a silicone baking mat or aluminum foil. Roast for 15 minutes, then turn the peppers 90 or 180 degrees, depending on their width.

Roast for 15 more minutes, then turn the peppers. Repeat after 10 minutes. Continue roasting until they are ready, i.e., when the skin has turned dark and is detaching in places. (The time depends on the type and size of peppers.) Put the peppers in a lidded container or paper bag to steam, then peel off skin, discard stem and seeds, and the liquid they release. Dice and set aside.

Cook the fish

In a deep sauté pan, warm up the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and stir. Turn down the heat to medium-low. Cook the onion for 15 minutes, stirring often. Add the garlic and cook for a couple of minutes longer.

Take the fish out of the refrigerator and cut into 1-inch / 2.5 cm cubes.

Add the strained tomatoes. Simmer, uncovered, for 2-3 minutes, until the sauce has thickened a little.

Add the sweet peppers along with the orange zest.

Add the fish to the pan, making sure the pieces are nestled in the sauce. Cover with a lid and simmer on low heat for 2-3 minutes until just cooked.

Adjust salt of the sauce. Sprinkle the parsley and scatter the almonds on the surface. Serve hot.

You can serve the fish with couscous. Steamed toasted quinoa or millet are alternatives. I served it with the Kenyan vegetable curry from a recent post.

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