Chef's Recipes

Chermoula flathead with eggplant and tahini yoghurt

Australian Gourmet Traveller recipe for chermoula flathead with eggplant and tahini yoghurt.

  • 1 hr preparation
  • 25 mins cooking plus marinating, draining
  • Serves 4
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Chermoula flathead with eggplant and tahini yoghurt
“Would you please request the recipe for chermoula flathead from Jolleys in Adelaide?”
Anne Chiew, via email
To request a recipe, write to Fare Exchange, , GPO Box 4088, Sydney, NSW 2001, or email us. All requests should include the restaurant’s name and address or business card, as well as your name and address.

Ingredients

  • 1 eggplant, diced into 1.5cm pieces
  • For shallow-frying: olive oil
  • 1½ cups (loosely packed) flat-leaf parsley
  • ½ Spanish onion, finely diced
  • 2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
  • 1 tsp cumin
  • 150 gm cherry tomatoes, halved
  • Juice of ½ lemon, or to taste
Chermoula flathead
  • 1 cup (loosely packed) coriander
  • 2 large golden shallots, coarsely chopped
  • 20 gm (5cm piece) ginger
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 large garlic cloves
  • ½ lemongrass stalk, white part only, coarsely chopped
  • 1 tsp each coriander seeds, fennel seeds and white peppercorns
  • 1 tsp ground chilli
  • ½ tsp each sweet smoked paprika and ground cumin
  • 4 flathead fillets (about 180gm each), bones removed
Pomegranate dressing
  • 100 ml pomegranate molasses
  • 80 ml (1/3 cup) extra-virgin olive oil
  • 50 ml cabernet sauvignon vinegar
  • 2 tsp toasted sesame seeds
  • 1 tsp caster sugar, or to taste
  • ½ tsp rosewater
  • ½ garlic clove, finely grated
  • ¼ tsp sumac
Tahini yoghurt
  • 100 gm Greek-style yoghur
  • 25 gm hulled tahini
  • Juice of ½ lemon, or to taste
  • ½ garlic clove, finely grated
  • ½ tsp ground cumin

Method

Main
  • 1
    For chermoula flathead, process ingredients (except fish) in a food processor until a fine paste forms. Place fillets in a non-reactive container, rub with chermoula paste and refrigerate to marinate (1 hour).
  • 2
    For pomegranate dressing, whisk ingredients in a bowl, season to taste and refrigerate until required.
  • 3
    For tahini yoghurt, combine ingredients, season to taste and refrigerate until required.
  • 4
    Place eggplant in a colander, scatter with salt and set aside to drain (1 hour). Brush salt from eggplant. Heat 2cm oil in a wide saucepan or frying pan over medium-high heat and fry eggplant until golden-brown (4-6 minutes). Drain on absorbent paper and set aside. Add parsley to pan and fry until crisp (1-2 minutes), then drain on absorbent paper and set aside. Add onion, stir occasionally until tender (5-7 minutes), add garlic and continue stirring (3-4 minutes). Add cumin and fry until fragrant. Remove from heat, stir in tomato and eggplant, add lemon juice to taste, season to taste and set aside.
  • 5
    Heat 40ml oil in a frying pan over medium-high heat. Brush excess chermoula off fish and fry, turning once, until just cooked (3-5 minutes). Squeeze lemon over to taste and season to taste. Top eggplant with fish and fried parsley, drizzle with pomegranate dressing and serve with tahini yoghurt.

Notes

This recipe is from the February 2012 issue of .

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