Baked fish fillets in an herb marinade

This is fast and easy after the marinating is done and if you already have the harissa. Prep the marinade before work and cook it when you get home, takes about 20 minutes that way.

There are two things you need to have prepared before you begin this recipe: Harissa and preserved lemons. You can substitute fresh lemon and salt for the preserved lemons but you definitely need the harissa.

To preserve lemons: Sterilize a quart jar. Clean a lot of lemons, cut them along the axis but do not complete the cut, leave about 1/2 inch at the stem of the lemon, turn a quarter and repeat so they are quartered but connected. Separate the lemon and pack it with sea salt, then squeeze it back together. Do this with all the lemons, squeeze tightly to release a lot of juice. Pack the lemons into the jar and cover with juice. Add 1/3 cup of salt. Add extra lemon juice if needed. Wipe the rim and seal tightly. Every couple of days, invert the jar so the lemon/salt juice covers the fruit. Do this for about three weeks. Store in the refrigerator after that. To use, you can separate the pith and pulp from the peel (for this recipe, I used the all parts of the lemon).

If you don’t want to postpone using this recipe for three weeks, use three tablespoons or so of lemon zest and add salt to taste.

Harissa (North African hot sauce): The recipe for harissa frightened me when I first read it, all those chilies! But, it’s not as hot as it sounds. Or maybe that’s just me. I got all of the chilies at Food City. I needed one small very hot chile and they only sold them in bags. I have about 30 now. They'll probably last my lifetime.

12 medium-hot dried chilies (Anaheim or New Mexico)
2 hot dried chilies (pasilla or ancho)
1 very hot dried chili (arbol)
2 T coriander seeds
1 T cumin seeds
1 tsp caraway seeds
sea salt
4-5 garlic cloves, chopped
about ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil

Rinse the chilies in hot water, cut off the ends and shake the seeds loose. Set the chilies in a bowl and cover with hot water. Set a plate on top to keep the chilies weighted down and under water.

Toast the coriander seeds, cumin seeds and caraway seeds in a dry skillet over medium heat until aromatic. Pour into a spice mill with a pinch of salt or grind with a mortar and pestle into a fine powder. Add the chopped garlic and pound into a paste.

Drain the chilies and discard most of the seeds and membranes. Using a spoon, scrape the softened pulp into the mortar. Pound with a pestle to make a coarse paste. Pound in about ¼ cup oil, 1 T at a time. Taste and add salt as desired. Or put the seed powder and chili pulp in a food processor, turn to puree and drizzle in the ¼ cup oil until it makes a paste. Store in the refrigerator.

Baked Fish fillets in an herb marinade
The Mediterranean Diet, pg 382

3 T finely minced flat leaf parsley
1 bay leaf
1 garlic clove
1 small yellow onion
half a salt preserved lemon (see above)
½ tsp harissa (or more to taste)
2 T extra virgin olive oil
1 ½ pounds halibut fillets at least ½ inch thick
2 T dry white wine
¼ cup salted capers, rinsed, drained and chopped
freshly ground pepper

Combine the parsley, bay leaf, clove, onion, lemon, harissa and 1 T oil in a food processor and make a paste. Taste and add more harissa if needed. Place the fillets in a deep baking dish, cover with the marinade and sprinkle with wine. Let marinate for at least one hour in the refrigerator.

When ready to cook, bring the dish to room temperature. Preheat the oven to 400. Add 1 T oil to the baking dish, top with capers and black pepper. Bake for 15-20 minutes until the coating is sizzling and the fish is done. Serve immediately.

How I did it: I used the food processor for the harissa and the marinade. I added a lot more harissa than the recipe called for. I just kept tasting until I liked it better. The sauce intensifies after the capers are added and it baked so don’t over salt it. I used swai instead of halibut. Swai is a great tasting fish and is rapidly becoming my favorite. I get it at Albertson’s.