Rose Harissa Pan-Fried Fish

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An Ottolenghi x Nonna Lizzie sweet & spicy fish dish.

The first time Jeroen and I made this at home, we truly felt like superstar cooks. The sweet, caramelised and spicy flavours together with fish was something new for us. Today, we make this dish almost every fortnight. It’s definitley a household and dinner party staple.

I’ve taken the original recipe from Ottolenghi’s Jerusalem and overtime tweaked to my flavour preferences. For the Rose Harissa sauce, my to go is Alfez otherwise you can check the Amazon results here.

Thank you Ottolenghi for opening up my creativity in the kitchen!

Enjoy x

Lunch with family in Belgium

Lunch with family in Belgium

Ingredients

  • 400g white fish fillets (ie. cod, sea bream or sea bass)

  • 3 medium red onions (sliced lengthways)

  • 3 garlic cloves (minced)

  • 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar

  • 1/4 cup maple syrup

  • 95g of rose harissa sauce (approx 1 small jar)

  • GF flour (or normal flour)

  • 1 lemon

  • Garnish: Dried edible rose petals, corriander and optional for tahini sauce.

Method

  1. WITH a knife, score the fish with 3 lines on top of the fillet. Rub in olive oil, lemon juice and salt and pepper.

  2. RUB half of the rose harissa sauce all over the fish filets and let it marinate for an hour.

  3. SAUTÉ the garlic and onion in a pan with olive oil on medium heat. Once it begins to caramelise, pour in the balsamic vinegar. Let it sit for around 10 minutes until the balsamic starts to thicken up into a sauce.

  4. ADD the maple syrup into the sauce and mix for 2 minutes. Reduce to low heat.

  5. MEANWHILE, take the fish our of the fridge and dust it with flour on a plate. Create a thin flour coating around the fish.

  6. THE sauce should be slightly thickened by now. Add in the remainder of the rose harissa sauce and 1/4 cup water to the mix so it doesn’t dry out. Mix for 2-3 minutes on low to medium heat.

  7. ADD in the fish fillets and pour some of the sauce over the fillets. Cover with a lid and let it sit for 8 minutes.

  8. GARNISH with corriander and edible rose petals. Optional to drizzle some tahini on top.

Garnished with corriander and tahini on top.

Garnished with corriander and tahini on top.

Garnished with just rose petals.

Garnished with just rose petals.

First time Jeroen and I made this dish! (Singapore 2020)

First time Jeroen and I made this dish! (Singapore 2020)

Tips

  • If you can’t find rose harissa, you can just use plain harissa sauce. Just add a little bit of honey to the sauce so you still get a subtle hint of sweetness.

  • If you’re in Belgium, I found rose harissa in Delhaize, in Singapore I used plain harissa from Meidi-ya. You can also find it in any middle eastern spice shops and on Amazon.

  • You might want to add water on step 6, just add litle by little so the sauce doesn’t dry out.

  • Tahini adds an element of creaminess to the dish. Totally optional but worth the added ingredient.

  • For the rose petals, you can use dried rose tea leaves. Otherwise you can find it at spice/wholefoods shops.

Lizbeth Pal-DevelterComment