Fish in tahini

Method11 steps

1. 1

   Step 1: Lightly toast the ¼ cup pine nuts in a dry nonstick pan, watching and moving them until lightly golden. Remove them from the hot pan and set aside for garnishing.

   Uses ¼ cup pine nuts for toasting and garnish

2. 2

   Step 2: Add a good drizzle of mild olive oil to a nonstick pan. Add the sliced onion (1 large) and cook over medium heat for around 15 minutes, stirring often, until caramelised.

   Check caramelised onion · 15 minUses 1 large onion, sliced into strips · A good drizzle of mild olive oil for caramelising the onion

   
3. 3

   Step 3: Set aside a quarter of the caramelised onion from step 2 for garnishing. Put the remaining three quarters into a small sauce pot.

   Uses Complete caramelised onion and its cooking oil

4. 4

   Step 4: In a bowl, vigorously whisk the ½ cup tahini, ½ cup lemon juice, 1 cup sauce water and ½ teaspoon sauce salt until well combined and smooth.

   Uses ½ cup tahini · ½ cup lemon juice for the sauce · 1 cup water for the sauce · ½ teaspoon salt for the sauce

   
5. 5

   Step 5: Taste the tahini mixture from step 4. Add extra lemon juice or salt only if needed, and a little extra water if too thick. Keep it pourable, since tahini thickens as it heats and cools.

   Uses Complete mixed tahini sauce · Additional lemon juice to adjust the sauce, if needed · Additional salt to adjust the sauce, if needed · Additional water to loosen the sauce, if needed

6. 6

   Step 6: Pour the adjusted sauce from step 5 into the pot holding the remaining three quarters of the caramelised onion from step 3. Bring it to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer gently for around 5 minutes. Keep the sauce warm while preparing and frying the fish.

   Simmer warm tahini and onion sauce · 5 minUses Complete adjusted tahini mixture · Remaining three quarters of caramelised onion in the sauce pot; reserved garnish excluded

7. 7

   Step 7: Pat the four fish fillets dry. Mix the ½ cup flour with the ¼ teaspoon each of fish spice blend, cumin (¼ teaspoon), black pepper (¼ teaspoon), turmeric (¼ teaspoon), paprika (¼ teaspoon), seven spice and ground coriander (¼ teaspoon), plus the separate ½ teaspoon coating salt. Coat the fillets in this spiced flour. Have the sauce and garnishes ready before heating the frying oil.

   Uses 4 white fish fillets, approximately 400 g altogether · ½ cup plain all-purpose flour for coating · ¼ teaspoon fish spice blend · ¼ teaspoon ground cumin · ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper · ¼ teaspoon ground turmeric · ¼ teaspoon paprika · ¼ teaspoon Lebanese seven spice

   
8. 8

   Step 8: Heat about 2 cups vegetable oil in a deep frying pan until ready to fry the coated fillets. Carefully lower in a first batch of fish from step 7 without crowding. Fry the first side for about 2½ minutes, watching its colour, then turn the fillets in the next step; the source guide is about 5 minutes total per batch.

   Turn the first fish batch · 3 minUses Coated fillets chosen for the first frying batch; remaining fillets and unused coating excluded · About 2 cups vegetable oil for the deep frying bath

9. 9

   Step 9: Turn the fish in the oil from step 8 and fry the second side for about 2½ minutes, continuing if needed until crisp and fully cooked, with the thickest part reaching 145°F (63°C). Lift the cooked fillets onto a clean plate, keeping the remaining oil in the pan for any further batch.

   Check the second fish side · 3 minUses First fish batch and frying oil

10. 10

    Step 10: If coated fillets remain from step 7, repeat steps 8 and 9 in the same frying oil, using a small batch at a time and turning halfway through the roughly 5-minute guide. Check each batch is crisp and reaches 145°F (63°C) before adding it to the clean plate of cooked fish from step 9. If all the fillets were in the first batch, keep that cooked plate ready for serving.

    Uses Remaining coated fillets, unused coating excluded · Remaining frying oil retained in the pan, lifted cooked fish excluded · Previously lifted fully cooked first batch on the clean plate, frying oil excluded

11. 11

    Step 11: Arrange the cooked fish collected in step 10 on a serving plate, leaving the frying oil behind. Spoon over the warm tahini and onion sauce from step 6. Garnish with the quarter of caramelised onion reserved in step 3 and the toasted pine nuts from step 1. Serve with the lemon wedges.

    Uses Collected fully cooked fillets, frying oil excluded · Warm tahini sauce with its cooked onion · Quarter of caramelised onion reserved for garnish, sauce-pot onion excluded · Complete toasted pine nuts · Lemon wedges for serving