Fish tagine with chermoula

Recipe for a quick and easy and incredibly tasty Moroccan fish tagine with herbs

Chermoula is a fresh, Moroccan spice mixture for marinating fish or meat, which is stewed in the tajine. The mixture of the fresh herbs parsley and coriander together with other spices give an extraordinary pleasure, which is also quite fast and easy to prepare.

The tagine is a traditional North African casserole made of natural clay, in which meat and vegetables are cooked tender and juicy over a long time. The small oven stores and distributes the heat evenly, so that the ingredients are cooked vitamin-friendly with little fat and liquid. The tagine is sensitive to rapid temperature differences and should therefore be heated only slowly.  You can use the tagine in the oven with underheat or on the stove. You can also use a Roman pot instead of the Tagine.

Ingredients for 4 persons

For the Chermoula marinade
3 cloves of garlic
4 tblsp parsley
3 tblsp fresh coriander
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tblsp paprika powder, sweet
1 pinch of chilipulver (e.g. Cayenne)
Juice from a lemon
4 tblsp olive oil
1 pinch of saffron

For the fish tagine
500 g of fish fillet (for example monkfish, cod or haddock, it should be solid)
1 large onion
1 yellow and red bell pepper
800 g tomatoes (2 cans of 400 g)
2 tbsp tomato puree
100 ml fish fond
150 cored black olives
1 salt lemon*
2 tbsp fresh coriander

Preparation

For the Chermoula marinade peel the garlic and chop finely. Wash the parsley and coriander, dry, remove the stalks and chop finely. In a large bowl, stir together garlic, chopped herbs, cumin, paprika powder, chili powder, saffron, salt and pepper, add the oil and lemon juice and mix well. Let it steep for about 30 min.
Cut the fish into 5-6 cm pieces, place in a bowl and add the chermoula, then carefully turn the fish in the marinade. Allow to marinate for about 1-2 hours in the refrigerator.
Peel the onion and chop finely. Remove the stem and core housing from the peppers and cut into thin strips. Heat the fishfond. Cut the salt lemon into eights.
Cook the onions in a pan with a little oil, add the rest of the marinade, then add the peppers, the tomatoes, the tomato paste and the fish fillet, season with salt and pepper and simmer for about 10 minutes.
Add half of the tomato sauce to the tajine, place half of the fish, repeat the whole, and finish with the lemons and the olives.
Close the lid of the tagine and let it simmer for 30 minutes at medium heat. After this time, check whether the fish is cooked and extend the cooking time if necessary.
Serve with freshly chopped coriander and fresh pita bread.

* A salt lemon can be prepared three days in advance: cut a cross of about 1 cm depth into an untreated organic lemon on two sides. Into this, grate salt, place the lemon in a jar, fill it with salt, screw the lid tightly and leave the glass for three days. You may need to rinse a little salt before using, depending on how much salt you have already used in the dish.

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