Moroccan recipe : Tagine-cooked fish with olives & vegetables

Another recipe from our poolside Moroccan cookery lessons ! This was cooked the traditional way in a tagine but a slow-cooker or any pot with a lid would work just fine too.

Tagine-cooked fish with olives & vegetables

ingredients :

spice marinade : 1tsp salt, 1 tbsp cumin, 2 tbsp paprika, a large handful of finely chopped fresh coriander leaves, 2 cloves garlic, 1tsp ginger, a grind of black pepper, 1/4tsp saffron, the juice of 1 lemon, 3tbsp olive oil

1 large fish

1 onion, sliced

1/2 red pepper

1/2 green pepper

1 garlic clove, crushed

2 tomatoes, sliced

2 potatoes, sliced

1/2tsp harissa chilli paste (optional)

a couple of handfuls of olives

a big green chilli pepper (optional)

water

Take one gutted but otherwise whole fish and chop it into three or four pieces (including the head and tail - it all adds flavour, apparently ! Although I should point out that at this point, we asked our grinning cookery guide what sort of fish to use and he said "the swimming kind" !) Grab a big handful of marinade and rub it all over the fish, inside and out. Leave to marinate for an hour or two, if you have time.

Drizzle olive oil in the bottom of the tagine and gently fry the onion and garlic for a couple of minutes. Cover the bottom of the dish with slices of tomato and potato and place the fish pieces on top. (This stops the fish from sticking or burning.) Top with the rest of the vegetables and marinade, add the chilli and olives, pour in a glassful of water, put on the lid and leave to cook for 40-60 minutes until the fish and potatoes are perfectly cooked.

This makes a complete dish but you can serve it with crusty bread or couscous if you want to mop up all the lovely sauce.

Other blogposts you may be interested in :

Moroccan recipe : Kefta Meatball Tagine

Moroccan recipe : Chakchouka

Madhouse recipe : Mediterranean Stuffed Ciabatta