A tagine recipe (or tajine recipe) is traditionally made for the Passover / Pesach festival by Moroccan-Jews and Tunisian-Jews. Tagine recipes are plentiful: there are fish tagines, meat tagines, tagines with couscous, chicken tagines, and many other types of tagines.

What is a tagine (tajine), you may ask? "Tagine" or "tajine" means "stew" in Arabic, and originally referred to the tagine pot in which the dish was cooked in. The tagine pot is an earthenware pot, made entirely of heavy clay. It is painted and glazed, and has a distinctive conical lid. The word "tagine" also came to refer to the dish as well, a type of stew, often spicy, consisting of meat, poultry, or fish that is slow-cooked or simmered for many hours in the tagine pot. Since this is a special method of cooking this type of stew by mixing and developing the spices and other ingredients together in a particular way, if you cook a tagine in a pot other than a tagine pot, then it isn't a tagine any more: it is a regular stew. Tunisians have tagines as well, but they have their own ways of preparing tagines.

The following recipe for tagine (or recipe for tajine) is a fish tagine complete with tomatoes, potatoes, and peppers for a rich, exotic meal either for the Passover / Pesach Seder or for any meal during the Passover / Pesach festival. This fish tagine recipe is also a low cholesterol recipe which produces an exotic, aromatic, and healthy dish all at the same time!

Fish Tagine Recipe with Tomatoes, Potatoes and Peppers (From Morocco)

10 (3 1/2-ounce or 99.22 grams) halibut or sea bass fillets
Charmoula (see recipe below)
5 red potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced
3 ripe tomatoes, sliced thick
3 sweet peppers, any combination of yellow, red and green, seeded and sliced
2 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
1 1/2 tablespoons tomato paste
1/3 cup lemon juice
1 cup water

Instructions for the Fish Tagine recipe with Tomatoes, Potatoes and Peppers:

  1. Rinse fish in cool water and pat dry.
  2. Season with about 1/3 of Charmoula and let marinate at least 30 minutes.
  3. Arrange bamboo skewers in lattice pattern on bottom of large glass baking dish.
  4. Place fish fillets on top of skewers.
  5. Dip potato slices in Charmoula and spread over fish.
  6. Dip tomatoes and peppers in Charmoula and spread over fish.
  7. Sprinkle with chopped garlic.
  8. In small bowl, combine remaining Charmoula with tomato paste, lemon juice and 1 cup water.
  9. Pour over ingredients in baking dish.
  10. Cover with foil and bake at 400 degrees Fahrenheit (200 degrees Celsius or Centigrade) for 35 minutes.
  11. Remove cover.
  12. Raise oven heat to 500 degrees Fahrenheit (260 degrees Celsius or Centigrade) and bake another 20 minutes, or until potatoes are tender and fish is cooked.
  13. Remove from oven and let stand up to 1/2 hour before serving.

Makes 10 servings.

Each serving contains about: Calories: 174; Protein: 20 grams; Carbohydrates: 19 grams; Fat: 2 grams (including 0.3 grams of Saturated Fat); Cholesterol: 27 milligrams; 12% of total calories come from fat.

Charmoula Recipe:

1/2 cup chopped cilantro
1/2 cup chopped parsley
4 cloves garlic, peeled
2 tablespoons mild vinegar
1/3 cup lemon juice
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 teaspoons paprika
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
Dash cayenne, optional

Instructions for the Charmoula recipe:

  1. Combine cilantro, parsley, garlic, vinegar, lemon juice, salt, paprika, cumin and cayenne in food processor bowl.
  2. Process until mixture is smooth paste.
  3. Use to season fish.

Share/Save/Bookmark          Subscribe