It's definitely a bit of a trip to Al Maghreb here on Sharon street this week. I'm trying to recreate an Essaouira style fish tagine like the ones Nicky and I had when we were there for a week in February. For those of you who haven't been there, it's a beautiful town hanging on the side of the Atlantic, battered by winds all year round, and of course a great place to get good seafood.
For this I used tilapia that was marinated for about 2 hours in Chermoula [ 1 bunch each parsley and cilantro, juice of 1 lemon, 4 garlic cloves, 1 tsp ground cumin, paprika, and cinnamon, olive oil, salt, pepper ]. Then in a heavy bottomed casserole (or a tagine if you have one) layer sliced potatoes, the fish, a lemon sliced thinly, and a sliced red and green pepper, plus all the leftover chermoula mixed with water to cover the fish. Pop on the lid, bring to a simmer, and let it bubble away for about 30 minutes on a low heat. Add two tomatoes sliced thinly and cover and simmer for another 20 minutes or so. You can add the clasic preserved lemons and olives at the end too.
This one was fresh, very citrusy with the lemon, and the tilapia held up well to that long cooking time. Next time I'd add a little less lemon and more cumin and paprika and probably some tomato paste. The next one I want to try I'll roast the peppers first and try for a more concentrated drier tagine.
