Hassan's Fish Tagine

This is a classic Moroccan dish that uses a tagine as the cooking vessel.  If you aren't familiar with a tagine, here's a picture.

Tajine or tagine (Berber: taǧin) is a type of dish found in the North African cuisines of Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia, and Libya, which is named after the special pot in which it is cooked. A similar dish, known as Tavvas, is found in the cuisine of Cyprus. The traditional tagine pot is formed entirely of heavy clay, which is sometimes painted or glazed.  It consists of two parts: a base unit that is flat and circular with low sides, and a large cone or dome-shaped cover that rests inside the base during cooking.  The cover is so designed to promote the return of all condensation to the bottom.  With the cover removed, the base can be taken to the table for serving.

This recipe will include a Tomato Charmoul Sauce which may be unfamiliar to you as well.  It's simply a tasty sauce with is great with most seafood.  It makes a delicious base for a pasta marinara sauce as well.

Let's make it first:

1 T. olive oil

2 garlic cloves, chopped

2 yellow onions, diced

4 (14.5 oz.) cans crushed tomatoes

1 T. ground cumin

juice of 1/2 lemon

2 T. chopped flat-leaf parsley

2 T. chopped cilantro

sal and freshly ground black pepper

Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan, and fry the garlic and onion until soft.  Add the tomatoes, cumin and lemon juice. Simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Stir in the parsley and cilantro, and remove from the heat. Season with salt and pepper to taste.  The sauce can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 7 days or frozen.

Now on the main recipe:

4 (2-inch thick) cod or halibut filets (approximately 2 lbs.)

2 cups Tomato Charmoula Sauce

1 stick celery

2 potatoes

1 small red bell pepper

1 small green bell pepper

2 T. tomato paste

2 cups fish stock

1/2 cup Kalamata (or green) olives

1 preserved lemon

2 Roma tomatoes, halved and roasted

2 T. chopped cilantro

Marinate the fish in the Tomato Charmoula Sauce for 2 hours.

Split the celery stick in half lengthwise and place slices parallel to each other in the bottom of a tagine.  This prevents the fish from burning on the bottom.

Arrange the fish over the celery.

Slice the carrot diagonally in 1/2 inch thick slices. Peel and slice the potatoes to double the thickness of the carrot. Discard the seeds and membrane from the peppers and slice the flesh to double the thickness of the potato (as each of the vegetables takes different periods of time to cook, preparing them in this way prevents any of them being overcooked).

Alternate the carrot and potato slices around the outer edge of the dish on top of the fish.  Place the peppers, alternating red and green, on top of the whole dish.

Mix the remaining Tomato Charmoula Sauce with the tomato paste and fish stock until well combined.  Pour over the vegetables and fish, and top with the olives and Preserved Lemon wedges.

Cover the tagine with a lid and simmer over low heat for 45 minutes.

Serve the fish tagine directly to the table, garnished with the tomatoes and sprinkled with fresh cilantro.

I thinly sliced another wedge of the preserved lemons and made a criss-cross pattern on top of the fish before serving.

From Moroccan Modern by Hassan M'Souli

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