Moroccan whitefish in a tagine

Cookinero 12 Nov 2022

20150

Whitefish is an unusual fish for the Middle East, and I usually cook this dish with sea bass. But then I fell into the hands of a whitefish, and I did not regret it for a second. The bones are wonderfully separated, and the taste is quite worthy, and the special method of preparation, spicy couscous and citrus fruits reveal its multifaceted taste with a cascade of aftertaste.

How to cook Moroccan whitefish in a tagine

Step 1

Squeeze the juice from the lemons and half of the oranges. Cut the remaining oranges into slices.

Step 2

Prepare couscous. Pour the couscous into a deep bowl, pour in 2 tbsp. olive oil. Grind couscous thoroughly, then salt a little to taste, add 1 tsp turmeric, spices to taste and pour in 50 ml of very cold water and a mixture of citrus juice. Stir and cover with foil. Peel the almonds and fry until golden brown in butter. Combine couscous and almonds, fluff.

Step 3

Gut the fish, cut out the gills and clean. Make an incision along the spine of the fish from head to tail and carefully cut out the spine with kitchen scissors.

Step 4

Finely chop shallots and tomatoes.

Step 5

Grease the bottom of the tagine with olive oil, pour in 50 ml of water, lay out the bottom with orange slices. Put the fish in a boat on an orange pillow, lightly salt and pepper. Add some spice mix (about 1/2 tsp), some shallots, tomatoes and couscous to the bottom. Pour 50 ml of citrus juice over the fish. Add black and green olives, sprinkle with finely chopped fresh chili and drizzle lightly with olive oil.

Step 6

Bake the tybu in the tagine for 10-15 minutes, then remove the tagine from the heat source and, without opening the lid, let it rest for 10-15 minutes.

Step 7

Prepare the sauce. Melt the butter in a deep frying pan and pour in all the citrus juice. Evaporate a little, add a tablespoon of sugar, a little salt and evaporate for another 5 minutes, until thickened. Pour sauce over cooked fish.