Fish tagine is such a great way to stew fish, vegetables, and olives with herbs and spices. Moroccan Chermoula sauce with floral saffron, and aromatic Ras el hanout or Harissa spice blend takes the simple white fish dish to the next level.
Fish Tagine With Chermoula
I can't forget the phenomenal flavors of chermoula in the tagine. Out of all the wonderful tagine we had in Morocco, fish tagine was one of my favorites. Moroccans use preserved lemons in many of their dishes and tagine is one of them. Chermoula tastes great with preserved lemon.
I am not using preserved lemons. I have always had a difficult time finding it in Salt Lake City and life gets too busy to preserve lemons at home ;). Preserved lemons are preserved in water, and sea salt. I am using lemon zest, sea salt, and some fresh lemon juice to mimic the preserved lemon flavors.
Chermoula Sauce
Chermoula sauce is made with fresh herbs and north African spices. I loved every dish I tried made with Chermoula sauce in Morocco. Chermoula can be used as a marinade, a condiment, or a dip.
I am using fresh tomatoes, harissa, cumin powder, saffron, turmeric powder, chili powder, ginger, lemon zest, lemon juice, and sea salt to make chermoula.
Ingredients
For Tagine
- Tilapia: I am using tilapia loins for this recipe. Any white fish loin or fillet works fine as well. Moroccans make the fish tagine(tagine bil hout) with whole fish.
- Potato: I am using one large Idaho russet potato for this recipe.
- Onion: minced onion seems to be a good size for fish tagine cooking. You can use thinly sliced or chopped onion as well. I recommend sautéing the onion with a little oil before adding it to the tagine.
- Olives: I love varieties of olives in a tagine. I am using a combination of salty kalamata and buttery green olives. I am using Pearls olives.
- Chermoula: Moroccans pronounce Chermoula "sher-mu-la". Best chermoula is made with a great blend of Ras el hanout(Moroccan spice mix) or Harissa(Algerian spice mix, not paste), Moroccan preserved lemons, saffron, turmeric (kurkum), fresh herbs, and a real good olive oil.
How to Make Tagine
- Prepare chermoula sauce by combining freshly grated tomatoes, lemon zest, lemon juice, and all the spices listed on the recipe card.
- Grease the tagine or a Dutch oven and add minced onion at bottom of the pan. Place tilapia loins, and sliced potatoes on top of the minced onion.
- Pour Prepared chermoula sauce on top of the fish and potatoes. Spread the sauce evenly to cover the fish and potatoes.
- Place the tagine on the stove and simmer on medium-low heat. Use a heat diffuser to prevent the tagine from the direct harsh heat.
- Cover Tagine with aluminum foil. Cook without opening the covering for an hour.
How To Serve Fish Tagine
Moroccans serve tagine with semolina or white bread along with small side dishes like a cucumber tomato salad, olives, pickled veggies.
Couscous or plain rice are great options to serve tagine. Though, they aren't traditional ;).
Tagine Recipe Tips
- Sauté the onions in a little oil until translucent. This enhances the flavors in a tagine and you won't get that row of onion flavors.
- Grind the saffron in mortar and pestle then soak it in hot water. This will bring out the best color of saffron.
Can I Add Apricot or Prune to Tagine?
Of course. You can add apricots, prunes, dates, or raisins to the Tagine. You can also use a tablespoon or two of honey to make the tagine sweeter. That's how we eat it in America ;).
Fish Tagine for Ramadan Iftar
Tagine is such a great way to stew meat and vegetables for Iftar during Ramadan. It's one of our favorite one-pot meals. Everyone in my family enjoys having it after a long day of fasting. Quick and easy, doesn't take too long to prep either.
More Ramadan Recipes You'll Love
- Aloo(Potato) Samosa
- Garlic Roasted Potatoes
- Easy Seekh Kebabs
- Stuffed Peppers
- Cilantro Chutney
- Mutton Biryani
- Easy Chicken Biryani
More Fish Recipe
Fish Tagine with Chermoula Sauce
Equipment
Ingredients
Fish Tagine
- 4 Tilapia loins or other white fish with firm meat , boneless, skinless, cut into 8 equal pieces
- 1 large potato , washed, peeled and sliced into ¼" thick pieces
- 1 large onion , peeled and minced
- ½ cup calamata & green olives , more if you like olives
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil
Chermoula Sauce
- 2 medium tomatoes , shredded or pureed
- ½ teaspoon lemon zest or 1 preserved lemon
- 1 ½ teaspoons lemon juice
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 1 small bunch of minced cilantro , washed, stems removed
- 5 minced garlic cloves
- ½ teaspoon grated fresh ginger
- 1 teaspoon cumin powder
- 1 Tablespoon Ras-el-hanout or Harissa spice blend
- ½ teaspoon Kashmiri red chili powder or sweet paprika
- 15-20 saffron strands , grind in mortar and pestle then soak in 2 to 3 tablespoons of hot water
- ½ teaspoon ginger powder
- ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder
- 1 teaspoon sea salt or Himalayan pink salt
Instructions
- Combine Chermoula ingredients, all the spices, and oil. Set it aside.
- Add 2 tablespoons of oil and minced onion at bottom of the pan. Place tilapia loins, and sliced potatoes on top of the minced onion.
- Pour Prepared chermoula sauce on top of the fish and potatoes. Spread the sauce evenly to cover the fish and potatoes.
- Place the tagine on the stove and simmer on medium-low heat. Use a heat diffuser to prevent the tagine from the direct harsh heat.
- Cover Tagine with aluminum foil. Cook without opening the covering for an hour.
- Open the covering after an hour and add the olives. If the stew looks completely dry, add some(¼ cup or less) hot water.
- Cover and simmer for an additional 10 to 15 minutes on low heat.
- Serve it hot with Morrocan khobz, Pita, or Naan.
Baking Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 F. Follow the above steps 1 to 3.
- Cover the tagine with aluminum foil and place it on top of a baking sheet. Place the baking sheet with tagine in the preheated oven.
- Bake for 1 hour at 400 F. Open the covering after an hour and add the olives.
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