spiced (insert name of fish here)

with parsley oil, tahini, and pomegranate drizzle

This recipe is a riff on one from Sami Tamimi and Tara Wigley’s Falastin: A Cookbook.

Their version uses Salmon Kebabs.

This

For this recipe, you can use salmon, or any firm fleshed white fish fillets such as halibut, cod, haddock, or Chilean Sea Bass. We’ll finish it with a drizzle of tahini sauce, and another drizzle of pomegranate molasses.

This recipe looks like a lot of steps, a lot of work, but that look is deceiving.

• You make a couple of quick, easy, no-cook sauces.

• You char some onions.

• You season and cook some fish fillets.

• And you put them all together.

It’s simple really, and it’s way more than the sum of its parts. Your guests will be so impressed with this dish that you’ll almost be embarrassed by how easy it was. But we don’t have to tell them.

All thanks are due to Sami Tamimi and Tara Wigley, for the inspiration for this dish.

I love serving spiced fish with parsley oil, tahini, and pomegranate drizzle alongside Ruby Ptitim Pilaf with Dill and Feta. Israeli pearl couscous is toasted with aromatics, steamed in a flavorful stock, and tossed with lots of fresh dill, and sheep’s milk feta. Tiny cubes of roasted beet transform the pearls into rubies.

No harm will be done if you accidentally slip and drizzle some of the sauces for the fish over the ptitim.

Ingredients:

For the fish:

• 2 lbs fish fillets—any firm white fish, such as halibut or Chilean sea bass, skin on

• 1 tablespoon Falastin fish spice mix (see ingredients below)

• 2 teaspoons sumac

• olive oil as needed

• 2 medium onions, sliced into half-moons, about 1/2 inch wide

• salt and black pepper

• 1 lemon, cut into 4 or 6 wedges, to serve

• For the parsley oil:

• 1 packed cup parsley

• 1 garlic clove, finely chopped

• 1/3 cup olive oil

• 1 lemon

For the fish spice mix:

• 2 tsp    ground cinnamon

• 2 tsp    ground cumin

• 1 tsp    paprika

• 2 tsp    ground tumeric

Make the tahini sauce: 

Make the fish spice mix:

Place all of the spices in a bowl and mix well to combine. This will make more than you need. Transfer the rest to a sealed container. These spices are also very nice with chicken and with pan fried cubes of tofu. It will keep fresh for about 6 weeks.

Do make sure to label the jar. Too many times, I’ve stored a spice mix in a jar, only to have no idea of what it is a few weeks later …

Season your fish fillets:

• Set your fish on a flat surface, skin side down, and brush the flesh generously with olive oil.

• Sprinkle them with 1 tablespoon of the spice mix, the sumac, about ¾ teaspoon of salt, and a generous grind of pepper.

• Set the fillets aside in the fridge for at least an hour.

Make the parsley oil:

• Put the parsley, garlic, oil, ¼ teaspoon of salt and a good grind of pepper into the bowl of a (preferably small) food processor.

• Blitz for about a minute until smooth, then transfer to a small bowl.

• Add a squeeze of lemon juice, to taste.

Make the onions:

• Drizzle them lightly with olive oil and spread them out on a baking sheet.

• Use your hands to evenly coat all the onion slices with the oil. Be thorough but sparing. Sprinkle them lightly with salt.

• Slide the baking sheet under the broiler and broil the onions for about 10 minutes, turning them every few minutes, or until they’re nicely charred.

Make the fish:

preheat the oven to 350°

• Heat a large frying pan with a glug of olive oil over medium-high heat. Place the fish fillets skin side down into the sizzling oil and cook without moving them until the skin is crisp. This should only take a few minutes.

• Then, remove them to an oven safe dish that’s big enough to hold all the fillets in one layer. You may need to do this in several batches. Later, you can bring the fish to the table in this dish, or you can plate each portion individually.

• When all the fish is in the baking dish, slide it into the middle rack of the oven. Roast the fish until it’s cooked through and flakes when tested with a fork. The amount of time will depend upon the type of fish and the size of the fillets.

• When the fish is cooked through, scatter the charred onions over the fillets.

• Drizzle them lightly with tahini sauce, pomegranate molasses, and parsley oil. Bring the dish to the table and serve the fish with more of all three sauces on the side.