The ancient clay earthenware tagine refers to any of Morocco´s slow food simmered meat, fish, chicken or vegetable stews that often combine Savory and Sweet ingredients, for example: Ginger, Cumin and Dates or Figs.
This is a Fish Tagine from the storied port city of Tangier, at the Edge of Northern Africa, and here is their international legacy which was given to us on our last voyage over.
CHARMOLA is the marinade.
Evoo - I use a Greek Evoo called Evdominda from Pelopponesse.
Minced fresh parsley to taste to taste
2 tiny garlic cloves diced very finely
1 tablesp La Vera Pimentón Smoked Paprika
2 Tsps Ground tumeric
8 saffron threads soaked in water 10 minutes in a rock glass
I used 4 filets of wild fresh Mediterranean Rock fish, Urta de Roteña = Banded red sea bream from Rota, Cádiz (sea bass was unavailable)
a couple of diced carrots
4 red ripe vine tomatoes de-seeded and peeled
1 small leek
1 shallot
1 lemon thinly sliced and 1 lemon for the juice drizzling on the fish
salt to taste
24 Kalamata olives or Spanish or Italian Green olives of choice
1/2 tsp of Black peppercorns freshly grinded
1 red bell pepper sliced into lengthwise strips
- Combine the 1st seven ingredients in a large glass bowl. Add the fish filets and turn over to coat. Refrigerate for 2 hours in the spice mix covered.
- Preheat oven to 180 Centigrade and arrange the carrots, in the tagine and layer half the tomatoes the leek and the shallot and 1/2 of the lemon juice. Season with salt and black ground pepper and place fish on top. Arrange lemon slices and season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Now top the remaining fish with tomato sliced finely, lemon slices and parsley.
- On top arrange the olives and the red bell strips.
- Cover and bake approx 30 - 35 minutes.
- Now raise oven temperature 20 degrees and and bake until fish flakes easily, (do not over bake) & the veggies are tender.
*** If necessary add a tiny bit of Fish stock broth for liquid or a tiny amount of White wine.
A lovely dish and easy to prepare …
