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Middle Eastern Pantry
When this dish is simmering away on the stove top you know it’s Friday. You can literally smell it; the heady notes of the spices & garlic, the piquant peppers from the harissa, and the pleasant aroma of slow cooked fish, ready to be placed on the white tablecloth. Accompanied by fresh flowers, challah and wine on the table, you know yet another week is coming to end, making room for us to wind down by welcoming the shabbat.
Variations:
red bell pepper/ or fresh hot pepper; cut your preferred pepper into strands and add in the hot oil in the beginning of the cooking
process, once the pepper is in the oil for 3-4 minutes add in the garlic and continue with the cooking process.
carrots & chickpea; Add Sliced carrots in the beginning of the cooking process and finish with a can of chickpeas towards the last 15 minutes of cooking.
Preserved lemon paste- add more acidity and tanginess by adding a tablespoon of our preserved lemon paste when adding the harissa. It makes for a bright and welcoming touch. Make sure to adjust the salt accordingly as the preserved lemon paste has salt in it already.
Each country in North Africa has its own variation on this staple dish of fish cooked in a spicy tomato sauce. In Libya and Tunisia it goes mostly by the name of ‘Chraime‘ and is a very popular dish within jewish households. The final result is a really thick and rich sauce, made with tomato paste, lots of minced garlic and an array of spices that include caraway and/ or cumin cooked with a lot of oil.
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The Moroccan version on the other hand is more about using fresh tomatoes unlike the paste counterpart. The consistency of the sauce is more loose and not as thick. Also has an addition of fresh peppers; both spicy and red bell peppers. (the tunisian version also has spicy green pepper in it). Fresh cilantro is a prominent ingredient. While cilantro is controversial in the way that you either love it or hate it, I would highly recommend you give it a go. In some versions you might also come across carrots that lend a sweetness to it and chickpeas.
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This right here is our version, inspired by traditional recipes from across North Africa but mostly adopted to suit the flavors we love and our cooking style.
Moroccan Fish in Tomato and Harissa sauce
¼ cup olive oil
10 tomatoes, grated (grate tomatoes on the largest holes of a grater box over a medium bowl until all that's left is the flattened tomato skin and stem)
5 clove of garlic, thinly sliced or minced
3/4 cup Signature Harissa
1 tablespoon of Fiery Harissa (optional)
2 teaspoon salt/ TT
2 bunch cilantro, roughly chopped.
2kg/4.4lbs striped bass- cut into thick ‘steaks’, seasoned with salt on both sides
For the sauce;
Heat the oil in a large pan, add the garlic and saute until fragrant (make sure to not brown the garlic). Add the harissa, both the signature harissa and the fiery harissa at this stage. Stir gently and add the grated tomatoes. Let cook on medium heat for 10-15 minutes until the sauce comes together. Taste for salt.
Add the slices of fish on top of the sauce and spoon some of the sauce on the fish. Add the cilantro, save some of it to garnish when serving.
Let the fish cook for 45 minutes (or until its done, depending on the thickness of the fish) on low heat until flesh is soft and tender.
Serve with challah or any fresh bread to dip the rich sauce in.
Substitutes:
Fish- You can change up the fish to any other type of meaty white fish; cod, red snapper and halibut are great substitutes. The cooking time really depends on the type of fish and the thickness of it. So make sure to monitor accordingly as you dont want to overcook the fish. You can also use fish fillet for ease.
Fresh tomatoes- chopped canned tomatoes or tomato passata
Cilantro- parsley or omit altogether
Signature harissa recipes, shabbat recipes, fish recipes, dinner recipes
