Tarakihi with Smoky Couscous & Chermoula August 5, 2024
Chermoula is a North African sauce commonly used in Moroccan, Algerian and Tunisian cuisines. It’s made with fresh herbs, garlic, spices, lemon juice and olive oil. Check out the original recipe here. Serves 4.
Ingredients
Chermoula
- 50g fresh coriander, leaves and stalks
- 20g fresh parsley leaves
- 10g fresh garlic, peeled and coarsely chopped
- 35g preserved lemon
- 80ml extra virgin olive oil
- ½ tsp fine sea salt
- ¼ tsp ground paprika
- ¼ tsp ground cumin
- 1 pinch ground cayenne pepper
- Juice of half a lemon
Couscous
- ¼ cup sliced almonds
- 2 cups dry couscous
- ½ tsp smoked paprika
- 2 tsp fine sea salt
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- ½ cup fresh parsley, roughly chopped
- 3 tbsp pomegranate arils
Fish
- ¼ cup plain flour
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 4 white fish fillets, such as tarakihi
Method
- Chermoula: Pulse all the chermoula ingredients in a small food processor until just combined. The chermoula should have a slightly chunky consistency. Once done, set aside until ready to use.
- Couscous: Toast the sliced almonds in a small pan over medium heat for 2-3 minutes. Stir often to prevent burning.
- Put the dry couscous into a saucepan and add the paprika and salt. Pour 2 cups of boiling water over the couscous and cover it. Let it sit for 5 minutes or until the water is fully absorbed. Stir in the olive oil and fluff the couscous with a fork. When ready to serve, mix in the toasted sliced almonds, chopped parsley and pomegranate arils.
- Fish: Season the flour with salt and pepper and spread onto a small flat plate. Heat the olive oil in a medium frying pan over medium heat. Coat each fish fillet with the seasoned flour and cook for 2-3 minutes on each side.
- To serve, divide the couscous evenly into 4 bowls. Put one fish fillet on top of each couscous portion then top each fish fillet with 1 tbsp of chermoula.
- Note: For this recipe, I’ve chosen tarakihi for its medium to firm texture, but any mild flavoured white fish such as snapper or hoki will work well.