Recipe Fish Tagine with Saffron

[Morning Glory]

This dish sounds complicated but is really rather easy to make. Its pretty well equal quantities (in size) of fish and vegetables plus some spices. The marinating of the fish is important to add depth of flavour.* The rest is really simply simmering things in one pan. You can serve this with couscous and harissa but its fine on its own with a hunk of bread to mop up the juices. You can make this vegan by substituting tofu for the fish, which works surprisingly well.

Ingredients (serves 2)
300g cod loin (or other firm fish)*

For the fish marinade:
1/4 tsp saffron
1/2 tsp each of paprika, ground ginger and ground cumin
1/4 tsp salt

For the tagine:
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tbsp grated ginger and garlic
1/2 a white onion
1/2 a yellow pepper
1/2 a large carrot
4 or 5 small new potatoes
1/2 tsp fennel seeds
1/2 tsp ground turmeric
1/4 litre of vegetable or fish stock
1/4 tin of chickpeas (drained)
1 small courgette or 1/2 a large courgette\
4 or 5 baby tomatoes, halved
Coriander leaves or dill to sprinkle

Method

1. Place the saffron in a very small dish with boiling water to just cover. Leave to steep for at least ten minutes.
2. Cut the fish into large chunks.
3. Place the paprika, ground ginger, cumin and salt in a bowl and add the saffron plus the steeping water. Mix well.
4. Add the fish and turn to coat. Cover and leave to marinate for at least 2 hours.
5. Slice the onion and green pepper into medium slices.
6. Heat the oil in a pan and add grated garlic and ginger. Cook for a few minutes then add the onions and yellow pepper. Allow to cook gently for 10 minutes until the onion and peppers are slightly softened.
7. Cut the carrot, courgette and potato into slices (as shown below). You are aiming for approximately equal amounts and sizes of each vegetable.
8. Add the carrots, potatoes, fennel seeds, turmeric and stock to the pan. Allow to simmer gently (covered) for 30 minutes until the vegetables are tender. Add salt to taste.
9. Add the courgettes, chickpeas, tomatoes and fish plus its marinade and simmer for 10 minutes or until the fish is just cooked.
10. Serve scattered with coriander or dill.

*Its very important to use a firm fleshed cut of fish. Monkfish or cod loin is ideal. Please note that here I used cod fillet through necessity, which flakes easily. The only way to use a flaky or delicate fish is to lay it on top of the tagine at the very end and 'steam' it. You then need to dish up carefully and avoid stirring otherwise you will end up with a mush of fish flakes in the tagine.