Fried Fish Steaks with Chermoula

Name: Fried Fish Steaks with Chermoula
Yield: Serves 4–6
Cuisine: Moroccan
Ingredients: oil for frying; lemon quarters; salt; flour, sifted; 1 sea bream, about 1.25 kg/2½b, or 2 sea bass; ½ teaspoon powdered saffron; 4–6 tablespoons olive oil; 1½ teaspoons each powdered cumin and sweet red pepper; ¼ teaspoon hot red pepper; 2 teaspoons coarse salt; ½ bunch fresh green coriander, finely chopped; 3 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed; 2 tablespoons lemon juice

Preparation info

Serves
4–6

Difficulty
Medium

Appears in

Taste of Morocco

By Robert Carrier

Published 1987

About

Use the chermoula below or one of those in the preceding pages.

A whole fish is often marinated and fried in exactly the same way. Wash it thoroughly as below, then score it diagonally on each side and rub well with the chermoula.

Ingredients

1 sea bream, about 1.25 kg/2½b, or 2 sea bass
sal

Africa
Morocco
Safi
Essaouira
El Jadida
Carthaginian
Azemmour
Fish course
Pescatarian
Mediterranean

Method

To prepare chermoula, combine all the ingredients.
Scale, clean and wash the fish carefully in salted water, inside and out, then pat dry. Cut fish into steaks 4 cm/1½ inches thick, and rub well with chermoula. Allow fish to marinate in this mixture for at least 2 hours, or overnight.
When ready to cook, pat fish dry with paper towels an