Fish tagine with preserved lemon recipe

Name: Fish tagine with preserved lemon recipe
Ingredients: 4 small waxy potatoes (400g); Salt and pepper; 4 tomatoes, sliced (400g); 1 green pepper, sliced; 4 garlic cloves; 1/3 cup/80g roasted red capsicum/piquillo peppers (tinned/jarred); ½ tsp ground cumin; 2 tsp olive oil; ½ preserved lemon*(recipe inc); 10 stoned green olives; 400g white fish; 1 tbsp lemon juice; 3 tbsp fresh coriander, chopped; To serve- Moroccan flatbreads/wraps or bread; Preheat the oven to 180°C.; Soak saffron in a little boiling water for at least ten minutes.; Scrub potatoes and slice ½ cm thick, evenly. Place them in the bottom of a tagine base or casserole dish and sprinkle with salt and pepper.; Pictured: tagine earthenware; Add half the tomatoes, green pepper, garlic, piquillo peppers, ground cumin, salt and pepper, half the saffron, 1 tsp olive oil.

Everyday Cooking

Assembly Moroccan-inspired

Cook recipe

Tagines are amazing. They are a cooking pot originating from Morocco, and their cone shape means they have a self-basting technique – as the steam rises and condenses while the food cooks, it drips back down the lid back into the ingredients.

Fish tagine is wonderfully fresh, and a brilliant one pot meal. This is a great introduction to preserved lemons – a common ingredient in Moroccan cuisine, that add such a bright, lemon flavour. So easy to make – see recipe below.

You can start the preparation earlier in the day, so once guests arrive, just prior to serving, you can finish off the cooking while people are tucking into nibbles.

"Recipe by Peta Mathias, it is usually eaten with the fingers and lots of Moroccan style bread to soak up the juices"– Mary-Lou Herdson.

Serves two

Pictured: Fish tagine just after fish added for baking

Two pinches saffron

Ingredients

4 small waxy potatoes (400g)
Salt and pepper
4 tomatoes, sliced (400g)
1 green pepper, sliced
4 garlic cloves
1/3 cup/80g roasted red capsicum/piquillo peppers (tinned/jarred)
½ tsp ground cumin
2 tsp olive oil
½ preserved lemon*(recipe inc)
10 stoned green olives
400g white fish
1 tbsp lemon juice
3 tbsp fresh coriander, chopped
To serve- Moroccan flatbreads/wraps or bread
Preheat the oven to 180°C.
Soak saffron in a little boiling water for at least ten minutes.
Scrub potatoes and slice ½ cm thick, evenly. Place them in the bottom of a tagine base or casserole dish and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Pictured: tagine earthenware
Add half the tomatoes, green pepper, garlic, piquillo peppers, ground cumin, salt and pepper, half the saffron, 1 tsp olive oil.

Method

Place the lid on top and bake in the oven for 30 minutes.

Check that the potatoes are just about cooked. Bake longer if necessary.

Remove the flesh from the preserved lemon and discard. Cut the skin in thick strips.

Remove the dish from the oven and add the green olives, fish, the other half of the tomatoes, rest of the saffron, 1 tsp olive oil, the preserved lemon strips, the fresh lemon juice, and the fresh chopped coriander.

Place the lid back on the dish, and cook for a further 30 minutes.

Serve in the tagine with Moroccan bread, or tortilla wraps as a substitute.

*Preserved Lemons

Preserved lemons are so easy to make yourself and can save you at least $12 per jar - as per the recipe by Neil Perry from Saturday Kitchen, BBC:

25 fresh ripe lemons (unwaxed)

2 handfuls sea salt

Wash the lemons in hot water to remove the waxy coating.

Cut them in half, squeeze the juice out then cut into quarters.

In a bowl, rub the lemons all over with plenty of sea salt and pack them tightly into a sterilised jar with the lemon juice. Water can be used to top up the liquids if the juice doesn’t quite cover the lemons.

Preserve for at least 5 weeks.

To use the lemons, remove the flesh and pith, and discard. Finely slice or dice the skin.

Tip - For the last minute, cheats’ version of preserved lemons, simply boil some whole lemons in very salty water for about 30 minutes.

Makes 25 lemons

Pictured: Moroccan Glassware