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Oven-baked tagine of red mullet, tomatoes, and lime

Baking whole fish in a tagine keeps the flesh deliciously moist. You need to select fish that fit snugly into your tagine or ovenproof dish. The most popular fish for oven-baking in North Africa include red mullet, sardines, red snapper, grouper, and sea bass. You could serve this dish with Plain, Buttery Couscous or a tangy salad.

INGREDIENTS

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 25 g butter
• 2–3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• 3–4 good-sized red mullet, gutted and cleaned
• sea salt
• 2–3 large tomatoes, thinly sliced
• 1 lime, thinly sliced

To serve:

• leaves from a small bunch of fresh flat-leaf parsley, coarsely chopped
• 1 lime, cut into wedges

Serves 3–4

METHOD

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F) Gas 4.
2. Heat the olive oil and butter in an oven tagine or ovenproof dish. Add the garlic and sauté, stirring, until it begins to brown. Put the fish in the tagine and cook it until the skin has browned and lightly buckled. (If you are using an ovenproof dish, brown the garlic and fish in a large frying pan first.)
3. Turn off the heat, sprinkle a little salt over the fish and tuck the slices of tomato and lime over and around them. Cover and cook in the preheated oven for about 15 minutes.
4. Uncover and bake for a further 5–10 minutes, until the fish is cooked and nicely browned on top (you could do this under the grill if you prefer).
5. Sprinkle the parsley over the top and serve with wedges of lime to squeeze over the fish.

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