I got two new "toys" to add to my kitchen this Christmas - a tagine from my brother and a new cuisinart from my husband. (Some girls collect new shoes - I collect kitchen appliances?!) With the hustle and bustle of hosting Christmas this year, I didn't really get a chance to try out either of them until about a week after Christmas. I would look at them on the back of the kitchen counter and start to dream of all the wonderful things that I could make in them - the anticipation was killing me. Well, the day finally came and I decided to use both new gift to make fish tagine with preserved lemon and mint. The recipe came from the Easy Tagine cookbook that came with my tagine gift set.
For those of you unfamiliar with a tagine, it is a shallow, round, earthenware pot with a unique conical lid designed to lock in moisture and flavor. The food is served straight from the cooking vessel or tipped into a more decorative tagine. Classic tagine dishes include lamb with dried prunes, chicken with preserved lemons, duck with dates or fish and tomatoes. The tagine is a fundamental feature of Moroccan cuisine.
Fish Tagine with Preserved Lemon and Mint
1 recipe for chermoula
2 pounds fresh fish filets, cut into pieces (I used haddock)
2-3 Tablespoons oil
1 red onion, finely chopped
2 carrots, finely chopped
2 celery stalks, finely chopped
1 preserved lemon, finely chopped
14 ounce can diced tomatoes
2/3 cup water
2/3 cup white wine or sherry
sea salt and black pepper
fresh mint leaves
Make chermoula. (See recipe below) Reserve 2 teaspoons of mixture. Toss fish chunks with remaining chermoula. Cover and refrigerate 1-2 hours.
Chop carrots, onion and celery.
Heat oil in tagine. Stir in onion mixture. Saute until soft. Chop preserved lemon in food processor.
Add chopped lemon with reserved 2 teaspoons chermoulade, and tomatoes and stir in well. Cook 10 minutes and reduce liquid.
Add water and sherry (or wine). Bring to a boil, cover the tagine and reduce heat and simmer 10-15 minutes.
Toss the fish in the tagine, cover and cook 6-8 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
Sprinkle with fresh mint and serve immediately.
I served my fish with the couscous. (also included with my gift set) It was really good.
2 cloves garlic
1 fresh red chili (I used dried because I couldn't find fresh.)
1 teaspoon sea salt
small bunch of fresh cilantro
pinch of saffron threads
1 teaspoon cumin
3 Tablespoons olive oil
freshly squeezed juice from 1 lemon
Chop garlic, salt and chili in food processor.
Add cilantro.
Beat in the saffron, cumin, oil and lemon juice.
The tagine fish was a big hit. It was REALLY good. Flavorful and delicious and cooked perfectly.
Ciao!
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