Skip to main content

Sunday night Fish cous cous

Lisa and I had this last night, it's a great stand-by recipe that reminds me of our holidays in Sicily where this dish originates from. The nagic ingredient here is the additon of the almonds to the tomato base. The addition of the nutty texture to the touch of chilli heat and the grainy cous cous makes for a combination that adds a little bit of North Africa to your basic Italian. It makes for a fine combination from a culinary perspective as it does when it comes to holiday destinations.
The only non-store cupboard thing that is essential is some decent white fish.... although you could probably use frozen ... I haven't tried it but I don't see why not.It won't be as good but I bet it wouldn't be half bad.
As with most of my favourite recipes it is also very simple to make.
It is based on a Rick Stein recipe but it is very easy to adapt and dress up depending on what ingredients you have available. Also the base can be made in advance, you could probably freeze it very well too.
Perfect for a Sunday night supper.

The base

Ingredients

400g tin of chopped tomatoes
3 garlic cloves chopped
50g blanched almonds
i fresh red chilli seeded and finely chopped (or chilli flakes to taste)
ex virgin olive oil

Method

1. Once almonds are cool, chop them in a blender ...not too fine, there should still be some texture.
2. Heat olive oil in a large heavy saucepan that has a lid.
3. Add all of the other ingredients.
4. Once simmering cook for a further 5 minutes and then the base is done.

.... to complete the dish

200gms cous cous
225 ml vegetable or fish stock
100ml white wine
1 teaspoon ras al hanout (optional)
White fish fillet chopped into generous chunks (haddock, cod, monkfish)


Method

1. Put cous cous in a large bowl and pour the stock over.
2. Heat tomato base on a high heat and then add white wine and cook fast until white wine eveapourates.
3. Put fish on top of sauce, turn the heat down to simmer and put lid on. Cook for 5 minutes.
4. Fluff up cous cous with a fork - imagine your are raking japanese gravel garden and slowly work your way down until it is all fluffy.
5. Add a generous helping of chopped flat leaf parsley to the cous cous and stir to mix in.
6. place fish and sauce on the cous cous and serve.

Options

- add some peeled raw prawns when you put the fish in.
- vary the fish selection
- add some chopped onion cooked in oil and a little cinammon to the cous cous
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Crack potatoes courtesy of Ottolenghi. Harissa and confit garlic roast potatoes

Another recipe from Ottolenghi's Simple, another recommendation from Will Saunders.   I know its the middle of summer but who doesn't love a roastie? These little tinkers are so good that they are like crack, class A calories. The clever bit is the addition of semolina and caraway seeds which adds a new level of crunchiness to add to the delicious warm heat of Harissa. Heres the recipe These make a lovely, spicy change from the traditional Sunday roasties. They’re especially good with spiced roast meat. Serves six to eight. 2 large heads garlic, cloves separated and peeled 130g goose or duck fat 4 sprigs fresh rosemary  6 sprigs fresh thyme  2kg maris piper potatoes, peeled and cut into 5cm chunks 40g ground semolina 2 tsp caraway seeds, toasted and lightly crushed 2 tbsp rose harissa Flaky sea salt Heat the oven to 150C/300F/gas mark 2. Put the garlic, fat and herbs in a small ovenproof pan or saucepan for which you have a lid. Cover and roast for 40 minut
1 comment
Read more

Sea Bass on mushroom potatoes with salsa Verde

I felt the overwhelming need to cook something new on Saturday night. I didn't want the tired and tested I wanted to explore new culinary waters. However combined with this desire was an equal and opposing force, driven by being absolutely knackered, that meant it had to be simple too. I returned to one of Jamie's early books, to a recipe that IO had meant to do on countless occasions but never quite got round to. I have done several versions of Sea Bass on a bed of potatoes, some that I have written about on this blog. The one question I would have is about the thickness of the potatoes and the length of time they need to be cooked through ... in my oven I reckon they need about 10 minutes more than the recipe suggests. I would suggest a bit of a trial run if you are going to do it for a dinner party ... however once you have given it a whirl I think this makes for a very easy recipe for a crowd. Here's the recipe. Roasted slashed fillet of sea bass stuffed with herbs, bak
1 comment
Read more

Nigel Slaters deceptively brilliant monkfish

Lisa discovered this recipe in her favourite Nigel book. It is one of those fish, 'but not as we know it Jim' recipes. Not just because Monkfish is the fish that can best impersonate meat but also because of the marinade ingredients that are more often featured with lamb. It's not difficult to do but the flavour is a revelation, which makes it a perfect recipe in my book. This can be cooked on a grill pan or a barbecue. Ingredients 3 bushy sprigs rosemary, leaves finely chopped 4 anchovy fillets 2 large cloves garlic salt and freshly ground black pepper 1 large lemon, juice only 3 tbsp olive oil 800g/1½lb monkfish fillet Method Pull the leaves from the rosemary stalks and chop them finely, then tip them into a bowl large enough to take the fish. Rinse the anchovy fillets and smash them to a rough pulp with the flat edge of your chopping knife. Peel the garlic, crush it flat, then smash it to a purée in the same way. Stir together the herb, anchovy and garlic, adding a grind
1 comment
Read more