Dish of Fish in Tahini Sauce
(click to enlarge)

Fish in Tahini Sauce


Palestine   -   Siniyet samak bil tahin
Makes:
Effort:
Sched:
DoAhead:  		 2-3/4 #
***
2 hrs
Yes		 An interesting and flavorful dish where tahini replaces the dairy products used in the West. For Table Service and Buffet. Read Notes for other comments and Do-Ahead.




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Fish Fillets (1)  
-- Marinade
Lemon Zest
Lemon Juice
Cumin seed
Salt
Pepper blk
-- Sauce
Tahini
Garlic
Lemon Juice
Salt
Water
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Onions
Chili Green (2)
Olive Oil ExtV  
Flour all-purp
Oil for frying
Pine Nuts
-- Garnish
Sumac grnd. (3)  
Parsley, flat

Prepare Marinade   -   (15 min)
  1. Zest LEMONS (the one for this Marinade, and also one for the Sauce. All Zest is used in the Marinade.
  2. Squeeze a Lemon for 2 T Juice.
  3. Grind CUMIN and mix all Marinade items. DO NOT add to the Fish at this time.
Prepare Sauce   -   (15 min)
  1. Stir up TAHINI from the bottom to get it as thick as it can be.
  2. Chop GARLIC medium.
  3. Squeeze a LEMON for 2 T Juice.
  4. Mix together all Sauce items in a bowl. Beat it all together with a fork, adding a little water as need to make a thick cream texture. The sauce is thick and sticky, so other mixing methods don't work well.
Prep   -   (15 min)
  1. Cut ONIONS into quarters lengthwise and slice thin crosswise.
  2. Chop GREEN CHILIS fine, seeds and all, unless you are chili adverse, in which case, seed them.
  3. Chop PARSLEY for garnish.
Run   -   (70 min)
  1. IF using, preheat Oven to 425°F/233°C -or- see Buffet.
  2. In a spacious sauté pan (3-1/2 qt is good) heat 3 T Olive Oil and fry Onions stirring until translucent, then add 3 T Water. Set to a simmer, covered, until Onions are completely cooked, about 10 minutes. Set aside to cool.
  3. When ready to fry the Fish, coat with Marinade, turning to make sure they are well coated. DO NOT leave the Fish in the Marinade much more than 10 minutes or it will start to fall apart.
  4. IF Frying (see Frying), set up a flat plate spread with Flour for coating the Fish.
  5. When fish has marinated, in an ample sized skillet, heat 3 T Oil to frying temperature (350°F/177°C). Dip Fish in the Flour to coat and fit into the skillet without crowding, Fry until just lightly browned on both sides.
  6. As they are fried, arrange Fish evenly in a 9 x 13 inch (23 x33 cm) baking dish. If skin-on, skin side down.
  7. Stir Onions and Chilis into Sauce until evenly mixed. Spoon over the Fish and smooth the top with a silicon rubber spatula or similar.
  8. Sprinkle the top of the dish with Pine Nuts.
  9. Place in the Oven and let cook for about 7 minutes, or until Fish is cooked through.
  10. IF Wanted Slip the Dish out and place under the broiler at high heat until the top surface is bubbly and lightly browned in places. For this, press the Pine Nuts into the sauce or they will burn before anything else is browned.
  11. Serve hot, garnished with Ground Sumac and Parsley.
NOTES:

  1. Fish:

      I use Tilapia, an appropriate fish for the region. It is a Nile fish farmed in Palestine. The pattern recipe calls for Cod, Hake, or Halibut, skin-on, but these are all from cold northern oceans, and Palestine has no access even to the Mediterranean. Well, Gaza does, but the Israelis illegally block them from the fishing grounds. Other light colored fish that holds together reasonably well can be used.

  2. Green Chilis:

      Lacking Levantine Chilis, Serranos chopped whole are preferred. If you are chili adverse, seed them. If really chili adverse use Jalapeños and seed them.

  3. Sumac, Ground:

      This is available from any market serving a significant Eastern Mediterranean or Middle Eastern community. For details see our Sumac page.

  4. Do-Ahead:

      This is a "just before serving" sort of dish, but you can do practically all the steps down to placing the fish in the final cooking vessel a day ahead. Refrigerate the major components in separate bags. If not frying the fish, thaw it just before placing it in the cooking vessel.

  5. Frying:

      Frying the fish is a major hassle, with little gain, except in calories. Skipping it takes about 30 minutes off the cooking time. I leave it up to you whether to skip it.

  6. Buffet Method:

      The method given above is fine for Table Service, but not so good for Buffet Service. For buffet, I place the fish into a 10x10 inch covered electric skillet instead of in the oven dish. After cooking, the skillet can be set to "keep warm" for extended service. I cut the fish into smallish pieces (after frying if you are frying) so they can be easily spooned out in small servings. After applying the sauce, the fish is cooked in the covered skillet to about 135°F/57°C. The pattern recipe says browning the top is optional. If you really want to do it, use a Kitchen Torch with a flame spreader, as one would for a Creme Brulee.
  7. U.S. measure: t=teaspoon, T=Tablespoon, c=cup, qt=quart, oz=ounce, #=pound, cl=clove ",in=inch, ar=as required tt=to taste
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