Talk of the wilderness leads me to suggest an easy recipe full of the warm flavours of pasture and Mediterranean sea. A lovely dinner with a green salad and some warm bread, and a glass of white wine. One of Shoshana’s favourites.
Serves 8
Ingredients:
1 ½- 2 kilograms [3-4 lbs] of fish (salmon or hake or cod or halibut) in one piece or in chunky steaks.
Four leeks
Three carrots
Two bulbs of fennel
A clove of garlic
Dill
A glass of dry white wine
Two red onions
A handful of pine-nuts
Half a red chilli (optional)
Two handfuls of dried fruit – apricots, Medjul dates, sultanas, to taste
Couscous
Olive oil
50 grams butter
Salt and pepper
Method
Chop the fennel into strips, the carrots into batons and the leeks into strips and fry gently in some olive oil until barely soft. Season well. For the last couple of minutes of cooking, add the finely chopped garlic and some fresh dill. Turn all these vegetables into an oven-proof dish. Place the fish on top of them. Season well, add butter on top of the fish, sprinkle the glass of white wine over the whole dish. Cover with aluminium foil and bake at 185% for about 40 minutes or until the fish is just cooked. Do not overcook the fish.
Meanwhile
Add plenty of salt and some olive oil to the couscous in a large bowl; pour over some not quite boiling water; fluff with a ork, three times or so during the next twenty minutes.
Fry the two red onions in oil till soft; add the remaining leeks, chopped, and fry till just soft; season. Add the pinenuts and (optional) red chilli (chopped fine); fry for a minute. Add these vegetables to the couscous. Also add the dried fruit, chopped in bite-sized pieces, and the remaining fresh dill. Mix well.
Serve fish and vegetables on top of couscous royale, with the juices from the baked fish and vegetables.
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