Tunisian Baked Fish

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This creation is an adaptation of a Tunisian Spicy Fish recipe I actually found on the internet somewhere last year. I would like to give credit where credit is due, but I did not save the full url address when I printed this recipe. The truncated url on my hard copy reads: http://lark.cc.ukans.edu/~lash/recipes/.  Obviously, it’s from someone, perhaps named CC Lark, at the University of Kansas, but that’s all I can deduce from the info in the url. My thanks to this person for my inspiration on this wonderful baked fish dish.

I have modified the original ingredients slightly as well as changed the way the dish is put together. My compliments to whomever at the University of Kansas posted this recipe on the net, as the spice blend is quite nice. I eliminated the 1 c. fish stock (my frozen filets yield enough moisture during baking), reduced the red pepper flakes (as we found it too hot), added some onion powder, 2 T. butter to brown the onions in, and I added 2 T. tomato paste rubbed over the tops of the fish filets. We really like the final dish, which I served with steamed broccoli and broiled tomatoes. The blend of spices is similar to many Middle Eastern recipes, but the addition of the caraway seed is not so typical. This tasty fish dish is Induction friendly.

INGREDIENTS:

½ tsp. caraway seed

½ tsp. cumin seed

½ coriander seed

¼ tsp. red pepper flakes (original recipe used 1/2 tsp.)

½ tsp. onion powder (not in original recipe)

3 oz. thinly sliced onion, (browned in butter below)

2 T. unsalted butter (not in original recipe)

2 large cloves garlic, minced

2 T. parsley, finely minced (used only as garnish in original recipe)

24 oz. mild fish filets (I used 4 6-oz. Swai filets)

1 T. tomato paste

DIRECTIONS: Preheat oven to 375º. Place first 4 spices into a dry skillet and heat over medium heat until they are fragrant. Remove and place them into a spice or coffee grinder and grind them medium-fine. Set spices aside for a few minutes. Here’s where my preparation deviates from the original recipe: in the same skillet, melt the butter and slightly brown the onion over medium-high heat. Original recipe put the onion under and over the fish RAW, which I am sure would NOT cook thoroughly before the fish was done. Using a ceramic dish large enough to hold the filets, place half the butter/onion mixture in the bottom of the baking dish. Dot with half the minced garlic. Sprinkle half the toasted spices and parsley over the onions/butter. Lay the fish filets evenly over the onion mixture. Evenly spread the tomato paste on the filets with the back of a spoon or your fingers. Dot with remaining minced garlic. Sprinkle the remaining onion/butter mixture and parsley evenly on top of the fish. Finally sprinkle on the remaining spices. Pop into a 375º oven for about 20 minutes, depending on the thickness of your filets. Serve with a Greek salad or your favorite vegetable sides.

NUTRITIONAL INFO: Makes 4 servings, each contains:

176 calories

9.8 g fat

4.3 g carbs, .98 g fiber, 3.32 g NET CARBS

20.4 g protein

70 mg sodium

124 mg potassium