Roasted Fish Stuffed with Walnuts and Herbs: Adapted from a medieval Arabic recipe
Ingredients:
– 1whole fish, well cleaned, about 1 kg after cleaning
– 2 tablespoons ground sumac
– 1 tablespoon dried thyme or za‘atar
– 3 garlic cloves, crushed
– 2 tablespoons crushed walnuts
– ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
– ¼ teaspoon ground cumin
– 1 small piece of mastic, finely crushed
– 1 tablespoon rosewater
– Salt, as needed
– A little saffron
– 3 tablespoons sesame oil or olive oil
Method:
First, soak the saffron in the rosewater. Once it has infused well, add 1 tablespoon of the oil, then rub the mixture over the fish, inside and out.
Second, in a small bowl, mix 1 tablespoon of oil with the sumac, thyme, garlic, walnuts, cumin, cinnamon, mastic, and salt until the mixture becomes paste-like. Stuff this mixture inside the fish.
Third, grease an oven tray with the remaining oil and place the fish on it. Sprinkle the surface of the fish with a little salt. Coarse salt can be used to give it a better appearance, as shown in the picture. Place the fish in a preheated oven at 200°C, or at medium heat, for 35 to 40 minutes.
Options and Substitutions:
You can increase the amount of stuffing and use it for several large fish, or use the same quantity to stuff several smaller fish.
For a more tender fish, wrap it in aluminium foil or baking parchment while it cooks in the oven, similar to the Greek method of cooking fish en papillote.
The fish can also be grilled over charcoal instead of roasted in the oven.
Sea bream and sea bass both work well for this recipe. Grouper can also be used. When using grouper, it may be better to wrap it in aluminium foil or baking parchment to preserve its tenderness and juiciness.
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