Roast fish in Moroccan Marinade

October 31, 2010

This is dinner tonight. It has to marinate for 2-4 hours. So plan ahead.

Roast Fish in Moroccan Marinade, William Sonoma’s Food and Wine paring. Pg 54

1 small onion, grated
¼ cup chopped fresh Italian parsley
¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro
¼ cup chopped fresh mint
1 T minced garlic
1 T ground cumin
½ tsp cayenne pepper
1/3 cup olive oil
¼ cup lemon juice
4 firm white fish filets
salt and pepper to taste

Combine the onion, parley, cilantro, mint, and garlic in a small bowl. In a separate small bowl, whisk together the oil and lemon juice in a measuring cup (it doesn’t matter which you add to the other, but slowly pour one liquid into the other while whisking continually). Add the cayenne and cumin to the olive oil/lemon juice mix. Pour over the herbs, garlic and onion.

In a non-reactive pan, coat both sides of the fish with the marinade, cover and refrigerate for 2-4 hours. Transfer to a baking dish, lay the fish in one layer and coat with the marinade. Bake at 450° for 10-15 minutes until cooked through.

How I did it: My pan wasn’t big enough for marinating and I didn’t think I had any gallon zip bags (I did, but I discovered that after the fish was already in the pan). The marinade is thick, more like a paste. I put some in the bottom of the dish, added a layer of fish, covered those with marinade, then added the next layer of fish and topped with the remaining marinade. I transferred it all to my paella pan to bake (I really need a 12” skillet!)

I think this had too much cumin powder. It was overtly hot and not as savory as I'm used to in N. African cooking. I would suggest: more mint, more cilantro, 1 1/2 tsp cumin or, even better, toast 1 tsp cumin seeds and 1 tsp coriander seeds then grind them in a spice mill.

I served it with rice and steamed asparagus. My new favorite trick is to trim the asparagus, rinse well, place in a baking dish, season with sea salt, cover with foil and bake with whatever you are cooking for dinner. At 450, it takes about 15 minutes, at 350, it takes 20-25 minutes. I like it.