tagine of monkfish, potatoes, cherry tomatoes and black olives
For this lovely tagine, flavored with garlic, chili, cumin, and coriander (a popular version of Morocco’s favorite chermoula spice mix), you can use any meaty white fish. Serve it as a meal in itself with chunks of fresh, crusty bread to mop up the delicious juices, or with Plain, Buttery Couscous.INGREDIENTS
- 1 quantity Chermoula
- 900 g monkfish tail, cut into chunks
- 12 small new potatoes
- 3 tablespoons olive oil plus a knob of butter
- 3–4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
- 12–16 cherry tomatoes
- 2 green peppers, grilled until black, skinned and cut into strips
- sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 12 black olives
- 1 lemon, cut into wedges, to serve
- crusty bread or Plain, Buttery Couscous , to serve.
Serves 4–6
METHOD
Meanwhile, bring a saucepan of water to the boil and add the potatoes. Boil vigorously for about 8 minutes to soften them a little, then drain and refresh under cold running water. Peel and cut in half lengthways.
Heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil with the butter in a tagine or heavy-based saucepan. Stir in the garlic and, when it begins to brown, add the tomatoes to soften them. Add the skinned peppers and the reserved chermoula, and season to taste with salt and pepper. Tip the mixture onto a plate.
Arrange the potatoes over the base of the tagine and spoon half of the tomato and pepper mixture over them. Place the chunks of marinated fish on top and spoon the rest of the tomato and pepper mixture over the fish. Tuck the olives in and around the fish and drizzle the remaining tablespoon of olive oil over the top. Pour in 125 ml of water, cover with a lid and steam for 15–20 minutes, until the fish is cooked through. Serve immediately with wedges of lemon.