Lebanese Spicy Tahini Fish
Cook Time 1 hour
Servings 4-6
Ingredients
1½ – 2kg whole barramundi, scaled and cleaned
Spice Rub Mix
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp salt
½ tsp ground chilli
3 - 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Sauce
1½ cups freshly squeezed lemon juice
17 cloves of garlic, minced
1 cup fresh coriander, washed and finely chopped
2 long red chillies, finely diced
1 tbsp ground coriander (or to taste)
1 tsp ground chilli (or to taste)
1½ cups of tahini
4 cups of water
1 tbsp of salt
½ cup of pine nuts
Salad
½ cup of pine nuts (or slivered almonds)
½ cup coriander (finely chopped)
½ long red chilli, finely sliced
1 - 2 tbsp lemon juice
1 - 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Salt to taste
Method
Preheat the oven to 200°C.
Place the fish onto a baking tray, cut three slits on either side. Add spice rub, olive oil and coat both sides. Bake in the oven for approximately 30 minutes or until flaky.
Prepare fresh coriander salad by mixing together all the ingredients minus the pine nuts. Set aside in the fridge until needed.
Meanwhile, to make the sauce, In a large frypan, mix 1 cup of pine nuts with 1 - 2 tbsp of olive oil and cook on medium heat for about 3 minutes or until lightly browned. Take half of the pine nuts and grind them with a mortar and pestle, you will need to add them to the sauce. Keep the remaining pine nuts for garnishing at the end.
In the same frypan, heat 1 - 2 tbsp olive oil over med-high heat, add garlic, coriander and chilli and saute for a few mins. Reduce heat to med-low and add tahini, lemon juice, water, coriander, chilli and salt and bring to a simmer, stirring continuously. Add the smashed pine nuts and cook for approximately 20 minutes. If the sauce looks too thick, add a cup or 2 of water. It should have a pouring custard consistency at the end.
Once the fish is done, lay it out on a serving platter, pour the cooked tahini sauce on top of the fish, top with fresh coriander salad and browned pine nuts, serve hot with rice or Lebanese bread and enjoy.