Recipe from January’s Easy Cook

https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipe/fish-tagine-saffron-almonds

Ever since I first tasted Moroccan food- in Corsica of all places!- I’ve loved it. This pretty quick recipe for a fish tagine piqued my interest for a midweek dinner.

Difficulty rating- 2/5

Necessary equipment-

1x large pan with lid

Measuring spoons

Measuring jug

1x chopping board

1x kitchen knife

1x grater

1x small serrated knife or tomato knife

1x juicer or sieve for catching pips

For how many people? 4

Timings–

Total time taken (according to the recipe)- 40 minutes

Total time taken by me- 1 hour

Hands-on time (according to the recipe)- 15 minutes

Hands-on time taken by me (including ingredients prep)- 35 minutes

Cooking time (according to the recipe)- 25 minutes

Cooking time taken by me- 25 minutes

The making–

I put the pan over a medium heat, filled & turned on the kettle and removed the fish from the fridge. When the pan was hot I added a tablespoon of oil and the onions. While I cooked the onions for about 10 minutes, I crushed the garlic, grated the ginger, chopped the chilli and made up the chicken stock with a healthy pinch of saffron soaking in it. I added the garlic, ginger & chilli to the pan and stirred them through the onions for a few minutes before adding the spices and tomato purée. I halved the cherry tomatoes, zested and juiced the orange and added them to the pan with the ground almonds, honey and stock then simmered for ten minutes.

The simmering time provided the perfect opportunity to make some cous cous to serve with the dish.

After the sauce in the pan had thickened chopped the fish into chunks and added it to the pan, then covered and simmered for a few minutes while the fish cooked, then served it over the cous cous, scattered with the rest of the chilli.

Any cheats or changes?

I was lazy and used pre-chopped onions.

Any extra tips?

It is easier to add the honey if you use the same tablespoon you used for the oil.

Anything you’d change for next time?

I’d make sure whichever white fish I used was skinless. It was fine with skin on sea bream fillets but would have been better without the skin!

I’d like to try it made with fish stock instead of chicken stock.

Serving Size- just about the right amount when served with cous cous.

The eating-

There’s something transporting about the smell of a tagine. Before I even started eating it, I was transported. It was also very delicious. I’d not had a fish tagine before and I really liked the way the flavours worked together. The balance of the warm spices and the heat from the chilli with the sweetness from the almonds was spot on, but the flavours from the sauce didn’t overpower the more delicate fish.

Any comments from other people?

My husband really enjoyed it, although he found it quite rich. He also said he would have preferred skinless fish fillets.

WW points- 5 without couscous

Verdict– 4/5- I can’t ignore that this took 20 minutes longer than suggested in the recipe, but I couldn’t reallly fault anything else about it.