Sea bream and red mullet tagine

How to make Sea bream and red mullet tagine recipe

Serves 4

Preparation time 15 minutes, Cooking time 35–40 minutes

Ingredients:
250 g (8 oz) sea bream fillets, cut into large chunks
250 g (8 oz) red mullet fillets, cut into large chunks
5½ tablespoons chermoula (see below for homemade)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1 celery stick, chopped
1 yellow pepper, cored, deseeded and sliced
1½ preserved lemons, chopped
250 g (8 oz) cherry tomatoes
400 g (13 oz) can chickpeas, drained
pinch of saffron threads
250 ml (8 fl oz) fish or vegetable stock
16 large, pitted green olives
salt and pepper
small handful of coriander leaves, to garnish

Method:
Mix together the fish fillets and 2½ tablespoons of the chermoula in a non-metallic bowl, cover and leave to marinate in the refrigerator.

Heat the oil in a large, heavy-based saucepan over a medium heat, add the onion, celery and yellow pepper and cook gently for 12–15 minutes or until softened.

Add the preserved lemons, reserving 2 tablespoons for garnish. Stir in the cherry tomatoes, chickpeas, saffron and remaining chermoula and season to taste with salt and pepper. Stir-fry for 2–3 minutes and then pour over the stock. Bring to the boil, cover and simmer gently for 10 minutes.

Use a large spoon to remove half of the chickpea mixture from the pan. Lay the marinated fish over the remaining mixture in the pan, then return the chickpeas to the pan, covering the fish. Scatter over the olives, cover and simmer gently over a medium-low heat for 10 minutes or until the fish is cooked through.

Ladle the tagine into bowls and sprinkle with the reserved chopped lemon and coriander leaves. Serve with steamed wholewheat couscous.

For homemade chermoula, dry-fry 1 teaspoon each of cumin and coriander seeds in a frying pan until fragrant, tip into a spice grinder or mini chopper and grind to a powder.

Add 1 teaspoon each of ground turmeric and ras el hanout, 2 roughly chopped garlic cloves, 1 small bunch each of parsley and coriander and 3 tablespoons lemon juice. Blend until smooth, then stir in 2 tablespoons olive oil. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2–3 days.

Sea bream and red mullet tagine