(with apologies to Sam and Sam Clark)
I have adapted this recipe to use local ingredients. Ain't no Hake or Charlotte potatoes in my 'hood as used in the original recipe. Other fish that would work would be Pink Ling or Trevalla. The Swordfish was a bit of a revelation, as it keeps it's shape well, but can become dry and flaky easily. Not in this dish. It's succulent and deeply flavoured by the charmoula, which is a fancy word for marinade/sauce from what I can tell. The original recipe is form page 183 of the wonderful Moro cookbook, a book that I strongly recommend for anyone who enjoys Spanish and Middle Eastern flavours. I have adapted it slightly to suit my kitchen and cooking techniques. If you wish to compare it to the original, off to amazon.com with you.
Tagines sound a bit wanky, don’t they? If you've not heard of one, they're earthenware cooking pots that look a bit like a casserole dish with a distinctive triangular lid. Tom’s sister gave us one from the store she works in the other day, so we thought we’d give this one a go. The technique is such that you use a layer of potatoes to hold the fish steaks above some boiling water, thus steaming the spiced steaks of white firm fish fillets. The tagine collects the juice from the tomatoes, fish and capsicums and the potatoes stew a little bit in this delicious, light sauce. You could successfully do this in any wide bottomed pot that allows you enough height to raise the fish above the water level. Any adequitely sized crock pot would do.
Ingredients
4 swordfish steaks
20 small waxy potatoes, peeled (Pink Eyes would be ideal, but I didn't have any so I used Dutch Creams.)3 tablespoons of olive oil
4 garlic cloves, cut into slices
15 cherry tomatoes (today I couldn't get any cherry tomatoes, so I used roma tomatoes. They were not quite as good, but passable)
3 large green capsicums
A handful of black oily olives
100ml water
Sea salt and black pepper
Charmoula
2 garlic cloves
1 level teaspoon of sea salt
2 teaspoons of cumin seeds
Juice of one lemon
1/2 tablespoon of good-quality red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon of paprika
1 small bunch of fresh coriander
1 tablespoon of olive oil
Method
1. Put the garlic, the sea salt and the cumin seeds into your mortar and pestle and give it a good bash. Once the garlic has been mashed up, add the lemon juice, vinegar, paprika, roughly chopped coriander and olive oil. Rub two thirds of the charmoula on to the fish steaks, and pop them in the fridge for at least 20 minutes (preferably 2 hours).
2. Peel and boil your spuds in salted water for 10-15 minutes in a medium sized saucepan. Once the potatoes are done, arrange them in the bottom of your tagine (or substitute). Set aside.
3. Cut the cheeks away from your green capsicum, slicing down from the core to the base, removing the seeds and pith as you go, and coat the skins with a little olive oil. Grill your green peppers in large slices under the griller until they are charred and blackened on the skin (this takes about 20 minutes). Put the capsicum in a plastic bag to soften for a few minutes (this makes them easier to peel). Remove the skins and discard them, and cut the remaining soft, grilled capsicum cheeks into bite sized pieces.
4. Rinse your saucepan, heat your olive oil and fry your garlic slices for two minutes until they begin to brown. Add your cherry tomatoes and toss them for two minutes until they begin to soften. Stir in the green peppers, and the remaining charmoula and taste for seasoning.
5. Scatter three quarters of the capsicum and tomato mixture over the potatoes in the tagine and then place your fish steaks on top. Add the last of the tomatoes and capsicum and pour the juice into the bottom. Scatter the olives over the top and pour the water in the bottom. Put the lid on and place on a medium-high heat for 10-15 minutes until the fish is cooked through.
6. Serve in bowls with a slice of bread and butter.
