HOUT BIL BATATA WA TAMATEM (Moroccan baked cod with potatoes and tomatoes, for six)

6 cod fillets (each weighing 7 to 8 ounces), skin left on (skinless fillets may be substituted if necessary)

salt

 

For the chermoula marinade and sauce:

2/3 cup chopped coriander

4 garlic cloves, crushed

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon ground paprika

½ teaspoon ground chili pepper

6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

juice of one lemon or 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar

2 pounds new potatoes

1 pound tomatoes

extra virgin olive oil

---

1.Slash the skin of the fish in a few places across the thickest part. This ensures that the fish does not curl, and cooks evenly. (If skin on fillets are not available, omit this step and proceed with skinless ones.) Sprinkle with salt.

2. Mix all the chermoula ingredients in a dish and marinate the fish in half the quantity for about 30 minutes.

3. Peel the potatoes, if you wish, and cut them into slices about ¼ inch thick, and the tomatoes into slices 1/3 inch thick. Brush the bottom of a baking dish with olive oil, put in the potatoes and tomatoes, and drizzle a little oil on top. Put the dish in a very hot oven preheated to 475* for 50 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender. During the cooking, turn them over once so that the top ones bathe in the juice released by the tomatoes.

4. Take the potatoes and tomatoes out of the oven, place the fish fillets on top, skin side up, and return the dish to the oven. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, or until the fish is cooked through; it is cooked when the flesh flakes when you cut it in the thickest part.

5. Just before serving, pour the remaining chermoula over the fish, letting it dribble into the vegetables.

 

from Claudia Roden, Arabesque