Wednesday, December 31, 2008

Moroccan fish stew

Today I cooked this foolproof and very tasty dish. The recipe below is for the economy version of it, which involves pouring marinade into the dish rather than discarding it and adding more of the same ingredients while making the sauce. This saves on the fresh coriander, which I have to buy growing in little pots and which is the second most expensive ingredient after the fish. Another idea: if you want more protein, you can add cubed tofu along with the fish. Yummy!



Marinade (Chermoula)
1 big bunch fresh coriander (a.k.a. cilantro)
salt
4 cloves garlic
1 glass water
2 T lemon juice
3 T olive oil
2 coffee spoon sweet red pepper
1 coffee spoon hot red pepper
1 T cumin

Crush the coriander with salt and garlic, stir in remaining ingredients. Marinate the fish (raw) in it for at least 1 hour (I marinated for about two days as I had no time to finish the stew).

Moroccan fish stew (Tajine Hout)
2-3 T olive oil
2 lb fish steaks (salmon or any other fish which will not fall apart during cooking)

2 medium-sized onions, chopped
1 small hot pepper, chopped (I used jalapeño)

2 cups canned tomatoes, peeled and puréed with 1/2 to 1 cup of water
1/2 to 1 t salt (don't go overboard with salt if you will be adding salted lemons)
1 t ginger
1/2 t cumin
1/2 t pepper

1 salted lemon, quartered and sliced (substitute with fresh lemon - to taste)
1/3 cup green olives, pitted

In a frying pan, heat oil, then sauté fish steaks over medium heat for 10 mins, turning over once. Remove and place in a pot. (I skipped this step, just made the sauce in a dutch oven and dumped the fish with marinade into it.)

Make the sauce: sauté onions and hot pepper in olive oil over medium heat for 10 mins. Stir in the marinade and the remaining ingredients, except the lemon and olives. Pour over the steaks in the pot.

Cover and cook over low heat for about 40 mins.

Spread lemons and olives over the top of the steaks, then cook for a further 10 mins.

Serve with mashed potatoes or cooked rice.

No comments: