Chermoula fish recipe with tahini sauce

This fish recipe can be baked in the oven or cooked in the slow cooker for rich flavour.

Serves: 4

Ingredients

• 1 kg cherry tomatoes
• 80 ml (1/3 cup) olive oil
• salt flakes and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1/2 garlic bulb, cut horizontally
• 4 x 180 g mahi mahi fillets (or any white-fleshed fish, such as mulloway, kingfish, flathead or barramundi), skin on and pin-boned
• steamed couscous, to serve

Chermoula:

• 1/2 tsp coriander seeds, toasted
• 1/4 tsp cumin seeds, toasted
• 1 tsp sweet paprika
• 3 flat-leaf parsley sprigs, leaves picked, plus extra leaves to serve
• 3 coriander sprigs, plus extra leaves to serve
• 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
• salt flakes and freshly ground black pepper

Tahini Sauce:

• 3 tbsp tahini
• juice of 1/2 lemon
• salt flakes

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 140°C.
2. Arrange the cherry tomatoes in a large baking dish and drizzle over 3 tablespoons of olive oil, then season generously with salt, sprinkle over the sugar and nestle in the garlic. Roast, shaking the dish halfway through, for 35-40 minutes until the tomatoes are just beginning to blister and soften but are still holding their shape.
3. Remove the tomatoes from the oven and, using tongs, remove and discard the loosened skins.
4. For the chermoula, crush the toasted coriander seeds and cumin seeds using a mortar and pestle, then mix in the paprika. Squeeze the roasted garlic flesh into the mortar, add the herbs and pound until a paste forms. Add the olive oil and a pinch of salt and pepper and stir through.
5. Rub the chermoula all over the fish fillets, arrange them on top of the tomatoes, skin-side up, and roast for 15-20 minutes until the fish is just cooked.
6. While the fish is cooking, make the tahini sauce by mixing the tahini with the lemon juice, a pinch of salt and 3 tablespoons of water. The sauce should be the consistency of thickened cream. If it is too thick, just mix in another splash of water.
7. Scatter the extra coriander and parsley leaves over the fish and tomatoes and serve with the tahini sauce and steamed couscous on the side.

Slow cooker method:

1. Place the tomatoes in the slow cooker and drizzle over 3 tablespoons of olive oil, then season generously with salt, add the sugar and nestle in the garlic. Cover and cook on low for 3 ½-4 hours until the skins begin to fall off and the tomatoes soften but still hold their shape. Remove the skins with tongs.
2. Follow step 4. Rub the chermoula all over the fish fillets and arrange them on top of the tomatoes. Turn the slow cooker to high, cover and cook for 20–25 minutes or until the fish is just cooked.
3. Follow steps 6 and 7.

This is an edited extract from The Slow Cook by Justine Schofield published by Plum RRP $39.99, Photography by Rob Palmer.