Prep and cook time 20 minutes
Baked snapper covered in a pine nut sauce that gives it a subtle, creamy, nutty and crunchy texture. A quick, light and delicious dish.
There is something special about Mediterranean fish and sea food. Unlike ocean species, the “fresh from sea” flavour is somehow more intense but I am not sure why. Is it the sun and moderate water temperatures, or is it the effect of the rich history, languages, and cultures surrounding it that have seeped into the water over millennia? All along the shores of Spain, North Africa, the Middle East, and around to Turkey and Greece, that intensity of flavor is reflected in dishes like paella, bouillabaisse and fish tagines.
In the Middle East, Sayadeya, is a rice and fish dish popular throughout the region and if you are ever in Cairo or Alexandria, I highly recommend Kadoura Fish Restaurant for one of the best informal places to enjoy fresh seafood.
Kadoura started in the northern sea town of Alexandria in the 1950s as a small hole in the wall fish monger shop, that offered grilled and fried fish as a sideline. Patrons had a choice of either sitting at the two, rarely available tables, or sit on the sidewalk chairs and have their fish out of a paper wrapper. The fish was superb and cooked to perfection and this was the simple formula that transformed Kadoura into a legendary eatery in both Alexandria and Cairo.
The Lebanese and Syrians have a signature dish that I also like and it is this one. Samak (fish in Arabic) with Tarator sauce, a crushed nut based sauce ( usually pine nuts) and not to be confused with sauce tartar which is egg based.
Now before I go on allow me a little rant.
I have seen many recipes that claim to be for Tarator sauce and are made from tahini, lemon juice, garlic and water! That is a tahini sauce (which also works nicely on fish see my seared halibut with tahini sauce) but I wish some established “chefs” and cooking sites would do their homework. You cannot make a genuine Tarator sauce without the pine nuts, or almonds, as an alternate. Without the nuts it is not Tarator!
Rant over.
The recipe can work as a grand production, coating the sauce over an entire baked fish or over filets for two. All you need to do is bake the whole fish or fillets of snapper, cod or any firm fish covered with foil so that they gently cook in their own juices for 20 minutes while you make the creamy nut sauce. A quick, light and delicious summer dish best served at room temperature.
Baked Snapper With Pine Nut Sauce
by
Derek Farwagi
Equipment
- Hand blender
Ingredients
- 2 filets of snapper
- 1 lemon
- half a cup of coarsely shredded white bread
- half a cup of pine nuts ( slivered almonds or walnuts)
- a quarter cup of water
- half a cup of sunflower oil
- salt to taste
Instructions
- Warm the oven to 350F (180C)
- Salt the snapper filets, and cover them with four thin slices of lemon. (Keep the other lemon half to juice later).
- Baked covered in foil for about 20 minutes at 350 F. While the fish is baking:-
- In a glass or cup, soak 1/2 cup of shredded bread in a little water for a couple of minutes while you blend the nuts.
- Blend 1/2 cup of nuts and add to a bowl.
- Squeeze out the water from the soaked bread and add it the blended nuts. Mix well.
- Add the juice of the remaining half of the lemon and half a cup of water and mix well.
- Using a hand blender, drizzle 1/2 cup of sunflower oil a little bit a time until you get the consistency of a thick mayonnaise.
- Salt to taste.
- When the fish is done, cover both filets with a thick coat of sauce and serve at room temperature.
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