The title shouldn’t scare you. It really means if you don’t have a tagine (who does?) make sure you have an oven-proof large fry pan with a tight fitting lid. There…simple.
- 1/4 cup plus 1 tbsp. olive oil, divided
- 1/4 cup Italian parsley, chopped
- 3 garlic cloves, peeled
- 2 tbsp. chopped cilantro
- 1 tbsp. Hungarian paprika
- 2 tsp. turmeric
- pinch of salt and black pepper
- 1/8 tsp. saffron
- 4 x 4 oz. halibut or cod, skinless (4 servings)
- 1 Vidalia onion, peeled and thinly sliced
- 1 orange bell pepper, cored and julienned
- 1/3 cup colossal green olives
- 3 large tomatoes, roughly chopped
- 1/2 cup fish stock (vegetable will also work)
- 1/2 lb. raw prawns, cleaned, tails on
- 1/2 lb. mussels, scrubbed
- lemon wedges for garnish
- crusty bread (for dipping)
In a food processor whirl 1/4 cup of the olive oil, garlic, cilantro, turmeric, paprika, salt, pepper and saffron until almost smooth. Transfer to a shallow bowl. Add the fish pieces and turn in the mixture to coat well. Set aside.
In a large oven proof fry pan heat 1 tbsp. olive oil. Add the onion and saute until almost soft. Add the orange pepper and olives and saute for a further 2 minutes.
Fold in the tomatoes and stock and bring to a boil. Snuggle the fish pieces into the vegetable mixture and scrape the remaining marinade over the top. Cover the pan and simmer for 5 minutes of a medium low temperature. Remove the lid and tuck the prawns and mussels into the mix and continue cooking for another 5 – 10 minutes. Discard any mussels that do not open.
Season with salt and pepper to taste and serve with lemon wedges and slices of crusty bread for dipping into the liquid gold sauce.
If you want to take this one over the top, serve with a really chilled Chardonnay. Just sayin’.
