Tagine, with sea bass in Chermoula marinade

2-07-2015 Sat. mild, sunny.  


WEEKEND BREAKFAST --- coffee | croissant | bread and cheese | grapefruit | pomelo 
AFTERNOON-TEATIME --- tea 
BEFORE-CONCERT-DINNER --- Tajine :  Chilean sea bass, sea scallop, manila clam, baby carrots, leek, beech mushroom, baby potato, and Chermoula marinade | Chardonnay

        

•  my first try on this one pot Moroccan seafood stew, thanks to DD's detailed recipe, turns out pretty good. need to improve timing for various vegetables.

        ////////////////  DD'S Tagine  /////////

        INGREDIENTS 

•   Seafood

             sea bass (fillets cut to single serving size)

• for Chermoula Marinade
  
     cilantro (1 large bunch, roughly chopped)
     garlic (3 cloves)
     ginger (1cm slice)
     chipotle chili (1, soaked, seeds removed)
     ancho chili (1, soaked, seeds removed)
     paprika (generous)
     cumin (1/2 of that of paprika)
     saffron (4 strands, didn't use this last time, but sounds good)
     salt (1 tsp) & pepper (4 good grinds)
     olive oil
     lemon juice
     
  for Stock
     olive oil
     carrots (split lengthwise)
     leeks (1 cm thick half-moons)
     shallots (quartered/wedges)
     white wine (preferably dry)

     arak/ouzo (any anise liquor)
     lemon juice (you know I like the fresh stuff)

     salt & pepper
     fingerling potato (peeled!)
  
  
  for Garnish
     pomelo 
  
  
  METHOD
  
  
  **Start marinating the fish at least 2 hours before cooking, can even marinate overnight
  
  
  Combine all ingredients for Chermoula Marinade except lemon and olive oil in food processor. Add enough olive oil to pulse into thick paste. Taste and adjust for salt and spices. Finally add a small squeeze of lemon juice (very careful with lemon in this dish, stock will have lemon too, sourness can overwhelm). Pulse to mix
  
  
  Place fish skin side down. Spread chermoula over all available surfaces of the fish. let sit 2 hours or overnight.
  
  
  **Start stock about 40 minutes before serving. Take out fish to de-chill. Stock ingredients listed in sequence of use.
  
  
  In a wide flat-bottomed pan on medium heat, sweat carrots in a thin layer of olive oil for about 5 minutes. Add leeks and shallots in same pan and sautee to sweeten without browning, about 5+ minutes. add more oil if necessary. When fragrant, add a few big glugs of white wine to calm the vegetables. Then add a delicate splash of ouzo. When some alcohol has evaporated, add modest amount of lemon juice (i think it was about 1/8 lemon squeezed in. lemon is important here, stock may taste slightly too sour at this stage, but the sourness will fade as it cooks further, and it will make the carrots nice and tart. still, hard to judge, will say err on the side of less acid, a too sour dish is tough on the palate). Now add salt and pepper to taste (going for a light stock), know that the marinade/fish will add a bit of salt later too. Let simmer with lid on for 5-10 minutes. 
  
  
  Add fingerling potatoes when carrots seem half done. Add hot water to just cover. Let simmer with lid on for 5 minutes.
  
  
  Wipe off most of the marinade from the fish. place skin-side-up on top of veggies in pan. spoon some stock on fish to wash remaining marinade into stock. taste, adjust for seasonings (can add a bit more of the marinade). Add hot water if liquid's low. Cover and let fish steam for 10 minutes. 
  
  
  Test done-ness of fish, potatoes, and carrots.
  
  
  Plate and garnish with small piece of pomelo or pomegranate.
  
  
  *** the timing seems complicated here, but all the ingredients are actually fairly forgiving. The most sensitive is probably potato. Know minimum time required for fish and work backwards from there.   
  **** lemon is the other key here, sensitive. when adding to stock, little bit at a time. the stock should taste sour at first, but a bright sort of sour, not mouth puckering. the acidity will definitely fade over time so that the flavors of the other veggies will come through.