Fish Tagine

This is the tagine I have made most often. You really must have preserved lemon on hand, but you can buy it (our local Whole Foods usually has some) if you don't want to make it-- or if you've started a batch and are waiting for it to be ready. We made a mixed grain salad to accompany the tagine instead of couscous.

Tagine Bil Hoot (Fish Tagine)
adapted from Kitty Morse's recipe in Cooking at the Kasbah
serves 4

1.4 cup minced fresh flat-leaf parsley
2 tblsp minced fresh cilantro
1/8 cup olive oil
2 tsp sweet paprika
8 threads saffron, toasted and crushed
1 tsp ground ginger
1 lemon
4 6-oz fish fillets (any firm-fleshed fish is fine)
4 tomatoes, peeled, seeded and chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp ground cumin
salt and pepper, to taste
3 carrots, peeled and sliced diagonally
1 onion, thinly sliced
1 tblsp preserved lemon pulp
12 green olives (preserved green cracked olives are fabulous, if you can find them)
Fresh parsley or cilantro leaves to garnish

Immerse your tagine, if you're using one, in cold water for at least an hour before use. You can also make this in a dutch oven or enameled pot.

Mix the parsley, cilantro, olive oil, paprika, saffron and ginger. Add the juice of half of the lemon. Place the fish fillets along with half of this mixture into a large ziplock bag and refrigerate for 1 to 2 hours, turning the bag over now and then. Cut the other half of the lemon into thin slices and reserve for later.

In a large saucepan combine the tomatoes, garlic and cumin and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the sauce thickens--about 10 minutes. Season with salt and papper. Set aside.

Place the carrot slices in a single layer in the bottom of the tagine. Cover with onions and spoon tomato sauce over the onions. Place a heat diffuser over your burner and the tagine on top of it, setting the burner to low-medium. Cover and cook until the carrots are tender, 15 - 20 minutes. Set the fish on top of the vegetables. Spread a little of the preserved lemon pulp over each fillet and top each with a lemon slice. Add the reserved marinade. Surround the fish with olives. Cover and cook over medium heat until the fish is flaky., about 10 - 12 minutes. Garnish with parsley or cilantro and serve.

Per Serving: 390 cal, 34 g pro, 25 g carb, 18 g fat, 3 g sat. fat, 7 g fiber

Comments

[J]

hi ann, beautiful tagine! i have some preserved lemons lying around; thanks for the inspiring recipe...i now know exactly what i'll be doing with them lemons now ;)

[Gustad Mody]

olives! i loooove 'em. looks good

[Jennifer]

I left my Kitty Morse cookbook w/ this recipe back in the States (I live in Europe most-of-the-time now) and was pleased you posted it online! If you haven't already , be sure to get Paula Wolfort's "Couscous & Other Good Food" cookbook - she is sort of the "graduate" program of Moroccan cooking, while Kitty Morse is "undergrad" (although some of Kitty's recipes I like better - b'stilla, yes. Harira, no). I love Paula's stories in the book - very entertaining!

Great website, by the way!