Prep and cook time 20 minutes
This no-cook version of Egypt’s famous spiced tomato sauce with its signature sweet, tangy taste is great on any white fish filet.
The inspiration for this “salsa” comes from the spicy sauce served with Koshari, one of Egypt’s best street food dishes. I grew up with it, miss it a lot and I last feasted on it at Koshari Street, a small eatery in London’s theater district.
Koshari is Egypt’s culinary pride and joy because it is one of the few dishes that is truly Egyptian and not a derivative of Ottoman cuisine like so many dishes in the Middle East. There is a theory that it might have been Introduced from India by the British but Egypt has adopted it as its very own.
It is a delicious comfort food made with rice, lentils, elbow macaroni, chick peas and toasted vermicelli. It is served with a delicious sauce made from spiced tomatoes with more than a hint of vinegar that gives it its signature sweet, tangy taste. Because of its relative mildness, the best vinegar to use is distilled white vinegar but regular white wine vinegar is a suitable substitute.
This “salsa” version of the sauce takes 10 minutes to prep, involves no cooking and is an ideal condiment to dress grilled firm fish filets. It is especially suited to the robust taste and texture of swordfish steaks.
Swordfish with Koshari "Salsa"
by
Derek Farwagi
Equipment
- Grill pan or cast iron skillet.
Ingredients
- 1 lb 1" thick Swordfish steaks cut across in two portions
- 1 tsp Tomato paste
- 1 tsp Distilled white vinegar Regular white wine vinegar works but is stronger tasting.
- 1 Garlic clove, crushed
- 2 tbsp Olive oil
- 1 tsp Ground cumin seeds
- 1 tsp Finely ground coriander seeds
- 2 tbsp Shallot finely chopped
- 2 tbsp Coarsely chopped cherry tomatoes
- A generous pinch of Cayenne Pepper Red Chili Pepper to taste
- Salt to taste
Instructions
- Mix tomato paste with vinegar.
- Add oil and blend mixture.
- Add crushed garlic, cumin, coriander seeds and Cayenne pepper and mix thoroughly.
- Add finely chopped shallot
- Add chopped cherry tomatoes, salt to taste and set aside.
- Pat dry fish steaks and sear on a medium heat for 4 minutes each side.
- Plate fish with some salsa and keep any extra on the side.
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