Tunisian Fish Tagine Food

FRAGRANT FISH TAGINE

Steps:

• To make the chermoula, put the oil, garlic, cumin, paprika, three-quarters of the coriander and the salt in a small bowl. Add the lemon juice, then blitz with a hand blender until smooth. Spoon half over the fish fillets and turn them over to coat both sides. Set aside to marinate.
• Heat the oil and fry the onions and garlic until softened and starting to colour, about 4-5 mins. Add the cumin and paprika and cook for 2 mins more. Add the tomatoes, stock, olives and lemon zest, stir in remaining chermoula and simmer, uncovered for 10 mins.
• Stir in the peppers and potatoes, cover and simmer for 15 mins until the potatoes are tender. If freezing, reserve half the sauce and chill before freezing.
• Stir the remaining coriander into the tagine, then arrange the fish fillets on top (if freezing a batch, reserve 4 portions of fish), and cook for 4-6 mins until the fish is just cooked. Serve with basmati rice, boiled with a little saffron if you like.

FISH TAGINE

Steps:

• First you need to make a flavor base for the tagine: Cut a cross over the bottom nodule of the tomatoes and blanch in boiling water. Then peel skin away, cut into quarters, and seed.
• Burn the outside of the pepper over a naked gas flame. When the skin is black, place pepper into plastic bag and seal. When cool enough to handle, rub from the outside to remove all the pepper skin, split, and seed.
• Pour 1 tablespoon of olive oil into a casserole dish, or tagine. Chop the pepper and tomatoes and place in the dish, add the chopped onion and some garlic. Heat over a flame to cook slowly.
• Then start making the marinade for the fish: Crush the fresh cilantro and flat leaf parsley with a pinch of salt in a pestle and mortar. Place into a flat mixing bowl with 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Add turmeric, ground ginger, and black pepper.
• Prepare the fish by chopping the heads and tails off, slice diagonally across its body to allow the flavors to penetrate the fish. Add sea bass, red mullet, and squid to marinade. Leave for 10 to 15 minutes.
• Add the fish to the flavor base, big pieces first. Leave the squid for last minutes, as this does not take long to cook. Cook over the heat for 10 minutes. Then add the squid and shrimps and any leftover juices. Cook for a further 5 minutes.
• Serve with couscous and salad.

3 LAYERED TUNISIAN TAGINE

Steps:

• Place a baking mold (10 to 15 inches) with 1 tablespoon of olive oil in the oven at 350°F/180°C.
• Fry in a pan onion until translucent.
• Add ground meat and cook stirring continuously until through.
• Remove from heat and add the other ingredients listed in the ground meat base.
• Take 1/3 of the lower base mix and add the other ingredients for the lower level. Mix with the spoon. Check salt and pepper!
• Take mold out and poor this first mixture. Spread with the spatula.
• Bake 10 minutes at 180°C During this time prepare the middle layer.
• Note: Heat and timing are basing it on convection oven. Cooking time depends from the size of the baking mold as well.
• For the middle layer take another third of the mixture. Add cheeses and egg. Also here mix with the spoon. Check salt and pepper!
• When the lower lever is firm poor the second level on it. Use the spatula.
• Bake other 10 minutes or so until firm. During this time prepare the upper layer.
• For the upper lever take the remaining third, add parsley and eggs. Mix with the spoon and adjust salt and pepper if necessary.
• Bake other 10-15 minutes or so until firm. Check with the knife if through.
• When ready let it sit for at least 20 minutes prior cutting.
• Serve and enjoy.
• Note if you have a smaller mold the cooking time will rise as the tagine will be thicken.
• Note: Feel free to change or add ingredients to your own taste.

TUNISIAN TAGINE

Steps:

• Boil 2 eggs for 10 minutes. Set aside to cool.
• Peel and chop potatoes. Fry in olive oil with salt, turmeric and cumin.
• Fry onions lightly, then add ground meat , if you are using it, and some salt. Let fry for a few minutes, then add harissa to taste and some water. Let simmer until most of the liquid is gone. Add some of the parsley and let cool.
• Prepare the rest of the vegetables.
• Peel and chop the boiled eggs.
• Mix vegetables, meat, potatoes, boiled eggs and about 4 ounces of the cheese in a bowl. Add the six raw eggs, salt, turmeric, cumin and crushed coriander seeds (and more harissa if you wish).
• Pour vegetable oil in an oven proof dish and pour mixture into it. Place remaining cheese on top.
• Bake in 350 F oven (medium heat) for 20-30 minutes.
• Cut into pieces and serve.

FISH TAGINE WITH SAFFRON & ALMONDS

Steps:

• Heat the oil in a large pan. Add the onion and cook for a few mins until soft. Meanwhile, put the saffron in the hot stock and leave to steep. Add the garlic, ginger and chilli to the pan and cook for a few mins more. Tip in the spices and tomato purée, stir for a few mins until fragrant, then add the tomatoes, ground almonds, orange zest and juice, honey and saffron-scented stock, making sure that you use all of the saffron strands. Simmer, uncovered, for 10 mins, until the tomatoes have broken down and the sauce has thickened a little.
• Add the fish to the pan, making sure the pieces are all nestled under the sauce. Cover with a lid and simmer on a low heat for 2-3 mins until just cooked. Check seasoning, add the coriander and scatter with the toasted almonds. Serve scattered with the chilli, along with some couscous and a blob of natural yogurt, if you like.

SEAFOOD TAGINE

Steps:

• Heat the oil in a large pan and cook the onion and red pepper for about 5 mins until softened. Stir in the garlic, harissa and chopped tomatoes, and cook for about 10 mins until thickened. Add the frozen seafood and cook through, about 10 mins more.
• Put the couscous in a serving bowl, pour over boiling water to cover, then cover with cling film. Leave to soak while the tagine cooks, then stir in most of the coriander, the almonds, lemon zest and juice, and seasoning. Serve the tagine with the couscous and cut the remaining lemon half into wedges to squeeze over. Sprinkle over the remaining coriander and serve.

TUNISIAN TAGINE

Steps:

• In some oil fry the small diced potato until lightly golden and cooked through. Alternatively you can boil the potatoes if you prefer to keep it healthy
• Dice the chicken breast and add to a frying pan with a little oil and the spices and garlic until the chicken is covered with the spices and cooked through. This will only take a few minutes.
• Once the potato and chicken is cooked. Set aside. Taking a medium to large baking dish, grease the sides with some of the oil and add the potato, chicken and parsely and mix well together in the dish, spreading the mixture evenly along the bottom. Check the seasoning and adjust if neccessary.
• In a seperate bowl beat the 8 egss together and pour over the ingrediants in the dish and bake in a preheated oven at 200c for 30 minutes.
• Check after 20 mins to see if the tagine has set all the way through and is a firm texture. Remove from the oven whilst hot and cut into squares leaving in the dish until slightly cooled and then serve with a green salad for lunch or on its own as a starter or with crusty bread and Tunisian Grilled Salad. Yummy!