Fish Tagine with Chermoulla

Source: Moosewood Restaurant Low-Fat Favorites

Here is a tantalizing blend of garlic, cilantro, and cumin sparked by fresh ginger and fresh chile. Fish baked in a lemony sauce is one of the all-time favorites at Moosewood. Served on bright yellow couscous, the dish looks quite lucious.

1 1/2 pounds firm fish fillets or steaks, such as scrod, sea bass, or swordfish
1 onion, thinly sliced
1 carrot, thinly sliced (I skipped this, not a big fan of cooked carrots)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup chopped fresh cilantro (my cilantro went bad, so I had to sub parsley)
10 garlic cloves, minced or pressed
2 tablespoons grated fresh ginger root
4 teaspoons ground cumin
1 cup fresh lemon juice (6-8 lemons) (I only ended up needing about 3-4 to make 1 cup)
1 fresh chile, minced, seeds removed for a milder "hot"
2 large tomatoes, chopped (I used 1 can of diced tomatoes)
salt to taste

cooked couscous (I used whole wheat couscous)

Preheat the oven to 350º.

Rinse the fish fillets and set them aside. Prepare a nonreactive baking dish with cooking spray or oil very lightly. Arrange the onions and carrots in a layer to cover the bottom of the dish and place the fillets on top. Lightly sprinkle them with salt.

In a blender or food processor, combine the cilantro, garlic, ginger, cumin, lemon juice, chile and half the chopped tomatoes and puree for form a smooth sauce. Add salt to taste. Pour the sauce evenly over the fish and vegetables and top with remaining chopped tomatoes. Cover tightly with foil and bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until the fish flakes easily with a fork. Serve immediately on couscous.

Serves 4.

Per 10-ounce serving: 230 Calories, 37.3 g Protein, 2.3g Fat, 16.1g Carbs, .3g Saturated Fatty Acids, .6g Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids, .3g Monounsaturated Fatty Acids, 84mg Cholesterol, 494mg Sodium, 2.8g Total Dietary Fiber.

My notes: This dish was easy to put together and very flavorful. I used swordfish. The recipe made quite a bit more sauce than was necessary (and we like a lot of sauce), so I froze the remaining sauce for use at a later date. I served the fish with whole wheat couscous and roasted asparagus.

I talked about this recipe HERE.