Marinated Sweet and Sour Fish

I love fish but don't eat it often enough, which is odd considering how quick it can be to cooked for a weeknight supper. This recipe does not fit into the weeknight supper category unless you make it the day before, but it is lovely if you do! It features fried fish fillets and sweet peppers in a curry-flavoured sweet and sour marinade.

I usually make it with pollack or cod fillets, but you you could use any firm-fleshed sustainably-sourced fish, including halibut, hake, or haddock fillets, or small fish, such as red mullet, sardines, or small mackerel.

It is meant to be served at room temperature as a starter or light supper, but I have also served it warmed up as part of an Indian meal. In fact, in winter I always prefer it warm.

The recipe is adapted from Ottlogenghi's Jerusalem cookbook, but it reminds me a bit of a South African recipe for pickled fish that I encountered in the Time-Life Foods of the World: Africa cookbook. Ottolenghi gives Danielle Postma the credit for this recipe, and Postma is a Dutch (Frisian) name which I assume would also be common in South Africa, so who knows where its origins really lie.

Marinated sweet and sour fish

I adapted the original recipe by finishing the dish on the stove top, rather than transferring it to the oven to cook for 10-12 minutes. Fish is delicate and overcooking it is a cardinal sin, so if it is almost cooked during the frying stage, it is easier to keep an eye on it on the stove.

You can start the marinade first and fry the fish in a separate frying pan as the marinade cooks, or start by frying the fish and then use the same pan to make the marinade. If you are using a single pan, use a saute pan or casserole that is large enough to accommodate the vegetables and fish. Either way, the fish is added to the marinade at the end.

Fish:

500-600 grams sustainably-sourced fish fillets or small fish, scaled and gutted
2-4 tablespoons of flour, seasoned with salt and pepper
1 large egg, beaten
1 tablespoon oil

Marinade:

2 medium onions, sliced 1 cm thick.
2 bell peppers, 1 red and 1 yellow, sliced in 1 cm strips
3 medium tomatoes, chopped
2 garlic gloves, crushed
2 tablespoons oil
1 tablespoon coriander seeds
3 bay leaves
1 1/2 teaspoons curry powder
2 1/2 tablespoons sugar
5 tablespoons apple or cider vinegar
1 to 1 1/2 teaspoon salt
pepper
aprox. 250 ml water
1-2 tablespoons coriander leaf for garnish

1. Prepare the vegetables, slicing the onions and peppers 1 cm thick, and chopping the tomatoes.
2. Sprinkle the fish with salt, roll in the seasoned flour, then dip in the egg. (This helps to keep the fish together in the marinade, so don't omit this step.)
3. Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a large frying pan or saute pan. 
4. Fry the fish for 3 minutes on each side, then transfer to paper towels and set aside. 
5. Wipe out the pan, and heat 2 tablespoons of oil.
6. Add the onions and coriander seeds, and saute on medium heat for 5 minutes, stirring often.
7. Add the peppers and cook for another 10 minutes.
8. Add the garlic, bay leaves, curry powder and tomoatoes, and cook for 8 minutes, stirring occasionally.
9. Add the sugar, vinegar, 1 1/2 teaspoons, several grinds of pepper and continue to cook for 5 minutes.
10. Add the fish to the pan, pushing the vegetables aside so the fish is nestled on the bottom of the pan.
11. Add about 250 ml water to the pan, just enough to ensure the fish is submerged, then bring up to a gentle simmer.
12. Poach the fish for 1-3 minutes until it is just cooked, and flakes when you gently insert a knife. The time required depends on the type of fish and the thickness of the fillets. (Personally, I think it is better if it is slightly underdone and finishes cooking in the marinade as it cools.)
13. Remove the pan from the heat and let it come to room temperature. 
14. You can serve it now or let it sit in the fridge for a couple of days. 
15. To serve, let it come to room temperature or heat it up gently on stove. Taste, adjust the seasoning and sprinkle with chopped coriander leaf for garnish.

Tweaking Ottolenghi Recipes

I have two cookbooks (Plenty and Jerusalem) by Yotam Ottolenghi, the London-based Israeli restauranteur, and have tried quite a number of recipes from the books and from those gleaned online, where he is everywhere.

I like his big bold flavours and sometimes unusual combinations, but I also have some caveats--his penchant for not easily obtainable foods (cobnuts or barberries, anyone?), the high fat content, the complexity of many recipes, their narrative style which does not always progress in the most logical order, the cooking times that sometimes bear no relationship with my experience. You wonder whether his recipes are actually tested in a home environment. I've been surprised in going through my cookbook notes that I've often had comments like "disappointing", "too dry", "mango doesn't work in this",

So I tweak his recipes, trying to reduce the fat where possible, substituting or omitting unobtainable ingredients, adjusting proportions and cooking times. I go to him for vegetarian inspiration, because he does have great ideas.

Here is one of my favourites.

Cauliflower Cake

This is a great vegetarian main dish. It would make a good dish for a picnic or buffet because it can be eaten hot or cold, and is sturdy enough to be picked up and eaten with your hand. In small slices, you could serve it as hors d'ouevres.

The original recipe calls for 10 eggs (!) and is intended to make a 24-cm cake that he says will serve 4 to 6 people. The man is mad, as that will easily serve 8-10 people. The following recipe makes an 18-cm cake that will serve 4 people as a main course with sides. I've reduced the oil, eggs, and cheese, increased the proportion of onion, and simplified the method.

31-Oct-2015: Even more variations are possible! These days I often add something spicy to give this cake a bit of a kick--a chopped chili pepper sauteed with the onion, or a couple of teaspoons of sambal or hot chutney. And I substitute chickpea (gram) flour for part of the flour to give it a more Indian vibe.

1 tablespoon of butter
2-3 tablespoons of nigella seeds (aka black cumin, onion seeds) or sesame seeds
1/2 head of cauliflower (350-400g)
1 tablespoon (15ml) olive oil
1 red onion
1 teaspoon of finely-chopped fresh rosemary
1 teaspoon dried basil, or 10g fresh basil, chopped
4 eggs
3 tablespoons (45ml) milk
90 grams flour
1 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
freshly-ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon turmeric
100 grams of sharp cheese, such as parmesan, aged Gouda or aged cheddar

1. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F.
2. Line the bottom of an 18-cm springform cake tin with parchment paper and use the butter to grease the bottom and sides of the tin. Sprinkle in the nigella or sesame seed and toss them around to coat the bottom and sides. This will add a pleasant crunch to the crust. (If you haven't got an 18cm springform, you can line a loaf tin with parchment paper, leaving an overhang on the sides so that you can lift it out.)
3. Cut the cauliflower into medium florets and steam covered over simmering water for 10 minutes until just tender. Set aside to drain and cool.
4. Peel the onion and cut a few rings off to use as decoration, and chop the rest of the onion rather finely (1.2 cm dice). Mince the rosemary.
5. Over medium low heat, saute the chopped onion and minced rosemary in a tablespoon of oil for about 8 minutes until soft. Take off the heat and mix with the steamed cauliflower and basil.
6. In a large bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, turmeric, salt, and a generous amount of pepper. Grate in the cheese and mix well.
7. In a small bowl, beat the eggs and milk.
8. Add the egg mixture to the flour and cheese mixture and stir until just combined.
9. Gently fold the vegetables and herbs into the batter, then pour into the prepared cake tin. Decorate the top with the reserved onion rings.
10. Bake for 35-45 minutes until golden brown and let cool for 5 minutes. Take knife around the edge to loosen the cake, before loosening and removing the side ring. 
11. Serve warm with a green vegetable and sharp salad (steamed spinach and three-bean salad or tabouli). Or let cool and wrap in cling film and eat it the next day.