Fish Fillets With Harissa And Black Olives Tunisia Food

ONE-POT FISH WITH BLACK OLIVES & TOMATOES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to fan 180C/conventional 200C/gas 6. Heat 1 tbsp of the oil from the olives in an ovenproof pan. Tip in the onion and stir well, leave to cook for a minute or two and then give it another good stir. Add the tomatoes and some salt and pepper. Bring to the boil, then add the olives.
• Put the fish, skin side down, onto the sauce and drizzle over a splash more oil from the olive jar. Bake, uncovered, for 15 minutes until the fish is cooked. Sprinkle with chopped parsley and serve straight from the pan, with lemon wedges for squeezing over.

HARISSA-CRUMBED FISH WITH LENTILS & PEPPERS

Steps:

• Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Mix the lentils, peppers, olives, lemon zest, 2 tbsp oil and some seasoning in a roasting tin. Top with the fish fillets. Mix the breadcrumbs, harissa and the remaining oil and put a few spoonfuls on top of each piece of fish. Bake for 12-15 mins until the fish is cooked, the topping is crispy and the lentils are hot. Scatter with the parsley and squeeze over the lemon wedges.

FISH FILLETS WITH HARISSA AND BLACK OLIVES (TUNISIA)

Steps:

• Season fish with salt and pepper.
• Dust with flour and fry in hot olive oil until golden brown on all sides.
• Transfer fish to a side dish. Add onion and garlic to the skillet and cook for a few minutes.
• Add tomato sauce, harissa, bay leaf and 1/2 cup water. Cook for 10 minutes.
• Add olives and fish fillets and continue cooking, uncovered, until the fish is tender and the sauce thick.
• Add lemon juice to taste. Discard the bay leaf.
• Serve, sprinkled with parsley.

FISH FILLETS WITH HARISSA AND OLIVES

Steps:

• Heat half the olive oil in a heavy frying pan. Dust the fish fillets with seasoned flour and sauté over medium heat for 2 minutes on each side or until golden. Transfer to a plate and set aside.
• Add the remaining olive oil to the frying pan and add the onion and garlic. Cook for 3-4 minutes until softened.
• Add the chopped tomatoes, harissa, bay leaves and cinnamon stick. Cook for 10 minutes, or until the sauce has thickened. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
• Return the fish to the pan, add the olives and cover the fish with the sauce. Remove the bay leaves and cinnamon stick and continue cooking for 2 minutes or until fish is cooked through.
• Add the lemon juice and parsley and serve.

BLACK OLIVES WITH HARISSA

Steps:

• In a colander rinse olives under cold water 1 minute and in a large bowl cover with cold water. Soak olives 4 hours to remove excess salt and drain well. To make the harissa: In a mortar with a pestle, an electric spice grinder, or a cleaned coffee grinder, grind seeds fine. If using mortar and pestle, add chiles, garlic, and salt and pound, to taste. If using a spice or coffee grinder, transfer seeds to a small food processor and add chiles, garlic, and salt. Grind mixture to a paste. Add pepper and oil and pound or puree to a coarse paste. In a large bowl stir together the harissa and olives and marinate, covered and chilled, at least 6 hours or overnight. Olives may be prepared 1 week ahead and kept chilled, covered. Serve olives at room temperature.
• Roasted Peppers: Using a long-handled fork, char peppers over an open flame or on a rack set over an electric burner, turning, until skins are blackened, 4 to 6 minutes. (Or to broil peppers on rack of a broiler pan under a preheated broiler about 2 inches from heat, turning every 5 minutes, 15 to 20 minutes, or until skins are blistered and charred.) Transfer peppers to a bowl and let stand, covered, until cool enough to handle. Keeping peppers whole, peel them, starting at blossom end. Cut off pepper tops and discard seeds and ribs.

TUNISIAN HARISSA

Steps:

• Cut off the tops of the dried red peppers, and deseed them.
• Soften them in a bowl of water for a half hour, then put them in a colander to drain them a bit.
• Take the skins off the garlic.
• Put them in a blender, add the red peppers, the salt, caraway, coriander, and 1 teaspoon of water.
• Also, add 1 tablespoon olive oil.
• Blend this until it is like a paste.
• Add olive oil to taste.
• The oil will lessen somewhat the intensity of the spice.

BLACK OLIVES WITH HARISSA

Steps:

• In a colander rinse olives under cold water 1 minute and in a large bowl cover with cold water. Soak olives 4 hours to remove excess salt and drain well.
• Make harissa: In a mortar with a pestle, an electric spice grinder, or a cleaned coffee grinder grind seeds fine. If using mortar and pestle, add chilies, garlic, and salt and pound to taste. If using a spice or coffee grinder, transfer seeds to a small food processor and add chilies, garlic, and salt. Grind mixture to a paste. Add pepper and oil and pound or purée to a coarse paste.
• In a large bowl stir together harissa and olives and marinate, covered and chilled, at least 6 hours or overnight. Olives may be prepared 1 week ahead and kept chilled, covered.
• Serve olives at room temperature.
• To roast peppers:
• Using a long-handled fork, char peppers over an open flame or on a rack set over an electric burner, turning, until skins are blackened, 4 to 6 minutes. (Or to broil peppers on rack of a broiler pan under a preheated broiler about 2 inches from heat, turning every 5 minutes, 15 to 20 minutes, or until skins are blistered and charred.) Transfer peppers to a bowl and let stand, covered, until cool enough to handle. Keeping peppers whole, peel them, starting at blossom end. Cut off pepper tops and discard seeds and ribs.

TUNISIAN HARISSA SAUCE

Steps:

• Pour boiling water over chilies and soak until reconstituted and completely soft, about 20-30 minutes.
• Drain and remove seeds and stems. Blend chilies with garlic and olive oil in a food processor.
• Add salt and spices and blend to form a paste, adding a little bit more olive oil, if necessary.

PANFRIED SEA BASS WITH HARISSA & ROSE

Steps:

• First marinate the fish. Mix together the harissa paste, the ground cumin, and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a small bowl. Rub the paste all over the fish fillets and leave them to marinate for 2 hours in the fridge.
• Dust the fillets with a little flour and shake off the excess. Heat the olive oil in a wide frying pan over medium-high-heat and fry the fillets for 2 minutes on each side. You may need to do this in two batches. Set the fish aside, leave the oil in the pan, and add the onions. Stir as you cook for about 8 minutes, until the onions are golden.
• Add the remaining harissa, the vinegar, the cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and plenty of black pepper. Pour in the water, lower the heat, and let the sauce simmer gently for 10 to 15 minutes, until quite thick.
• Add the honey and rose water to the pan along with the currants, if using, and simmer gently for a couple more minutes. Taste and adjust the seasoning and then return the fish fillets to the pan; you can slightly overlap them if they don't quite fit. Spoon the sauce over the fish and leave them to warm up in the simmering sauce for 3 minutes; you may need to add a few tablespoons of water if the sauce is very thick. Serve warm for at room temperature, sprinkled with the cilantro, if using, and the rose petals.

TUNISIAN CHAKCHOUKA

Steps:

• Cut the tomatoes into large pieces. Deseed and dice all the peppers.
• Heat olive oil in a medium size pot. The flavor belongs in the recipe, so use a good amount of it. Add the onion and garlic, and before it is brown, add the cumin. When the cumin is blended, add the tomatoes and peppers, the tomato concentrate, and the harissa. Add salt. Blend the ingredients with a long spoon. Add 1 - 3 bay leaves, and the thyme.
• As soon as the vegetables are cooked, and the consistency is a bit thickened, add the eggs. The eggs will be poached in the pot. Space the eggs to give them room. Put the lid of the pot on. Wait for the white to set, as much as 15 minutes, depending on how high your heat is. The yolk should be runny.
• When you serve this, dish up an amount of the vegetable part into a wide soup dish, then carefully center an egg into this. Repeat for four people. Have french bread cut and ready to dip into the chakchouka.
• Note: the amounts of tomato concentrate and harissa, which is quite hot, can be adjusted to personal taste. You could lessen the garlic amount if you like.