Recipe | Fish
Middle Eastern Baked Fish

I think a whole fish looks grand when served up to guests. This is one I've made a couple of times. These recipes are based on those by Claudia Roden

  • Preheat oven to 160º C

1 medium (1 kg) to large (2 kg) whole fish, scaled, gutted, washed (Claudia recommends sea bass, bream, John Dory, but in NZ I used Snapper)

  • Cut some incisions in the skin of the fish
  • Season or Marinade the fish (see below)
  • Place seasoned or marinated fish in a large piece of well oiled foil.
  • Wrapped up and seal edges firmly.
  • Bake at 160º C until done, i.e. flesh flakes easily and is no longer translucent (30-45 min)
  • Reserve fish stock for sauce (if required)
  • Serve fish hot or cold, in either of these ways:
    • on a large platter of lettuce or parsley, decorated with lemon slices, sliced green pickles, black olives, radishes, friend pine nuts or almonds, and/or capsicums, and with a separate bowls of sauce.
    • smothered in the sauce.

Season Option:

Olive oil or ghee
Salt and pepper

  • Rub over fish

Marinade Option:

Olive oil
lemon juice
onion, minced
garlic, minced
fresh herbs (bay leaves, oregano, marjoram, tarragon and basil), chopped

  • Marinade for a few hours.

Tarator Sauce

2 slices white bread, crusts removed

  • Soak in water and squeeze dry.

250 grams pine nuts (or almonds), ground or crushed in a mortar and pestle
1-3 cloves garlic, minced
1-2 lemons, juice only
Some water or fish stock from when fish was baked (see above)

  • Add to the bread
  • Blend to a smooth creamy paste.

Harra Sauce (Hot Spicy)

375 grams walnuts, coarsely chopped
A bunch of fresh coriander, finely chopped
7-15 cloves garlic, minced
6 tablespoons olive oil
2-3 lemons, juice only
salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 - 1 teaspoon chilli
Some water or fish stock from when fish was baked (see above)
[Optional] 1/2 teaspoon sumac

  • Blend to a smooth creamy paste.

[Optional] 1/2 fresh pomegranate, seeds only

  • Stir into the sauce

Tahina Sauce

Strictly speaking the fish is meant to be baked in this sauce along with the fried onions.

300 ml tahina
150 ml lemon juice
150 ml water
salt

  • Mix to a light cream

2 large onions, sliced
Olive oil

  • Sauté until soft and slightly coloured
  • Sprinkle over the fish

Reference

Roden, C. (1986). A New Book of Middle Eastern Food. Penguin.