This recipe is my adaptation of an Ottolenghi dish from his cook book Jerusalem. It is quick and easy to make but tastes amazing. It has a bit of a kick to it and is full of flavour.
Ingredients
- 75ml Sunflower Oil
- 3 tbsp Plain Flour (to make this gluten free, use a gluten free flour)
- 4 firm Fish Steaks (about 950g in total) – I used Cod but Barramundi, Sea Bream or Salmon would work
- 1 bunch of Spring Onions, green parts only, roughly chopped
- 1 green chilli, seeds removed (or left in, if you like things spicy), roughly chopped
- 3 cm piece of Fresh Root Ginger, skinned and finely grated
- 2 tsp Hot Paprika
- 1 tbsp Ground Caraway Seeds
- 1 ½ tsp Ground Cumin
- ¼ tsp Cayenne Pepper
- ½ tsp Ground Cinnamon
- ½ tsp Asafoetida
- 100g Cherry Tomatoes, halved and seeds removed
- 1 tbsp Tomato Puree
- 150ml water
- 2 lemons, 1 juiced to give 2tbsp of lemon juice and 1 cut, lengthways, into four wedges
- 2 tsp caster sugar (optional)
- 2 tbsp roughly chopped coriander to serve (optional)
- Salt
- Black pepper
- Rice/quinoa, made up according to package instructions
Utensils
- Shallow bowl
- Small Blender
- Large frying pan with lid
- Paper towels
Method
- Place the flour in shallow bowl and season generously with salt and pepper. Add the fish to this, one steak at a time, and coat completely in the flour. Shake excess flour off each steak.
- Heat 2 tbsp sunflower oil, in the frying pan, on a high heat. Once it is hot, sear the flour covered fish steaks in the pan for a minute or two on each side, or until lightly golden. Remove the fish from the pan and pat down, lightly, with a paper towel to remove excess oil. Wipe the pan down to clean it.
- In the blender combine the spring onions, ginger, chilli and spices with 2 tbsp sunflower oil, blend until a thick paste is formed. Take out of the blender and put the spice paste to one side. Wipe down the blender.
- Place the cherry tomatoes into the blender and blend until smooth.
- Place the remaining 1 tbsp oil in the frying pan and heat on high. Once it is hot, add the spice paste. Fry it for 30 seconds, stirring constantly, so that the spices do not burn. When the spices become fragrant, quickly but carefully, as it can spit, add the water to the pan to stop the spices over cooking. Add in the blended tomatoes, tomato puree, lemon juice, sugar (if using), ¼ tsp salt and some pepper to the mixture and stir to combine. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed.
- Place the fish gently in the sauce, bring to a gentle simmer, cover with the pan lid and cook for 7-11 minutes until the fish is done. Remove the pan from the heat, take the lid off and allow too cool down. Serve the fish either warm or at room temperature, on a bed of a rice/quinoa, with a slice of lemon and the coriander sprinkled over it.
