Moroccan Monday: A Flavorful Fish Tagine

It's tagine time!

Our holiday trip to Morocco has changed how we eat at Chez Gourmess. Six months later, and I'm still sprinkling cinnamon on orange slices and making zaalouk (warm eggplant salad) and taktouka (tomato and roasted pepper salad) every other week. And I've been making tagines at least once a month: cut-with-a-butter-knife beef tagine with prunes and toasted almonds, juicy chicken tagine with lemons and olives, and a flavorful fish tagine with vegetables and a chermoula marinade. Cooking in a tagine is easy and fun, but if you don't have one, a dutch oven works fine.


Fish Tagine with Vegetables and Chermoula Marinade
Ingredients:
2 TBS Paprika
3 TBS Cumin
1 TBS Ginger powder
1 TBS Ras el hanout 
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
2 TBS parsley, minced
1 TBS tomato paste
3 TBS Lemon Juice
3 TBS Olive Oil
2 cups crushed/diced tomatoes
1.5 lb white fish fillet (I used local wild flounder, 3 fillets, about 8 oz each)
2 medium-sized carrots
4 medium potatoes
3 peppers (red, green, yellow, orange -- or a mix)
1 cup briny olives
Salt/pepper to taste
1-2 TBS butter

Minimal MESS/ingredients/clean-up: Category 3

To Do:
  • In a large bowl, mix together the paprika, cumin, ginger powder, garlic, parsley, tomato paste, lemon juice, olive oil, and crushed tomatoes.
  • Dip each fish fillet into the marinade then place in a shallow dish, and cover with remaining marinade. Cover and refrigerate for about 15 minutes or more.
  • While fish is marinating, slice carrots into thin 3-inch strips and place in the bottom of a tagine.
  • Wash and dry potatoes, then slice into thin rounds (skin can stay on). Top the carrots.
  • Core and seed peppers, then cut into thin strips. Set aside.
  • Remove from the fridge and place the fish over the potatoes and cover with 1/2 of the marinade.
  • Top the fish with the peppers, remaining marinade, olives and 1/4 cup of water. Season with salt/pepper. This is also where I add a dollop of butter to the top.
  • Cover with tagine lid and cook (via special tagine instructions) over medium-low heat for about 1.5 hours, or until potatoes are tender and fish flakes easily.
  • Adjust seasonings if necessary. Serve with crusty bread and Moroccan vegetable salads like zaalouk or taktouka, and watch it be devoured.

xoxo

For the Beef with Prunes and Almonds, Zaalouk and Taktouka recipes, see previous post: A Lovely Moroccan Meal. 
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