Stranger Foods

Photograph of Fish tagine with preserved lemon and mint.

MoroccanFish tagine with preserved lemon and mint

Serves 4 | Prep 30 hr | Cook 35 mins

The fish tagines of coastal Morocco are often made with whole fish, or with large chunks of fleshy fish such as sea bass, monkfish and cod. The fish is first marinated in the classic chermoula flavouring, and the dish is given an additional fillip with white wine of sherry. Serve with new potatoes and a leafy salad.

Source: The Modern Tagine Cookbook

Ingredients

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900 g fresh fish fillets, cut into large chunks, such as cod or haddock
2-3 tbsp olive oil
1 red onion, finely chopped
2 carrots, finely chopped
2 sticks celery, finely chopped
1 preserved lemon, finely chopped
1x 400 g can of plum tomatoes with their juice
150 ml cup fish stock or water
150 ml white wine or fino sherry
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
bunch of fresh mint leaves, finely shredded

For the chermoula

2-3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 red chilli, deseeded and chopped
1 teaspoon sea salt
small bunch of fresh coriander
pinch of saffron threads
1-2 tsp ground cumin
3-4 tbsp olive oil
freshly squeezed juice of 1 lemon

Instructions

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First, make the chermoula. Using a mortar and pestle, pound the garlic and chilli with the sea salt to form a paste. Add the coriander leaves and pound to a coarse paste. Beat in the saffron threads and cumin and bind well with the olive oil and lemon juice (you can whizz all the ingredients together in an electric blender, if you prefer). Reserve 2 tsp of the mixture for cooking. Toss the fish chunks in the remaining chermoula, cover and leave to marinate in the refrigerator for .
Heat the oil in a tagine or a heavy-based casserole. Stir in the onion, carrots and celery and saute until softened. Add the preserved lemon (reserving a little for sprinkling) with the reserved 2 tsp of chermoula and the tomatoes and stir in well. Cook gently for about to reduce the liquid, then add the stock and the wine or sherry. Bring the liquid to the boil, cover the tagine, reduce the heat and simmer for .
Toss the fish chunks in the the tagine, cover and cook gently for , until the fish is cooked through. Season to taste with salt and pepper, sprinkle with the reserved preserved lemon and the shredded mint leaves and serve immediately.

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