Recipe: Roasted Cod with a Coriander Crust

"The combination of fish and tahini is one we find hard to resist, but this works just as well without the tahini sauce if you're looking for a shortcut, or want to keep the focus on the lemon," say Sami Tamimi and Tara Wigley.
"Either way, this is as close to fast food as you can get. It's a 15-minute meal to make, beginning to end. Possibly even less time to eat."
And if you don't have cod, no worries. "Any other meaty white fish works just as well here: sea bass and halibut, for example. Salmon also works well," they add.
Ingredients: (Serves four)
60ml olive oil
4 garlic cloves, crushed
50g coriander, finely chopped
2 1/2tsp fish spice mix (see below)
1/2tsp chilli flakes
4 large cod loin (or another sustainably sourced white fish), skin on (about 700g)
4 large fresh bay leaves (optional)
2 lemons: cut one into 8 very thin slices, and quarter the other lengthways into wedges to serve About 4 tbsp/65g tahini sauce (optional - see below) to serve
Salt and black pepper
(Makes just over 2tbsp - just stir all ingredients together)
2tsp ground cardamom
2tsp ground cumin
1tsp paprika
2tsp ground turmeric
150g tahini
2tbsp lemon juice
1 garlic clove, crushed
- 1. Make the tahini sauce: Mix together all the ingredients, along with 120ml of water and quarter teaspoon of salt. If it is too runny, add a bit more tahini. If it is too thick, add a bit more lemon juice or water. You want the consistency to be like that of a smooth, runny nut butter. It will thicken up when left to sit around, so just give it a stir and some more lemon juice or water every time you use it.
- 2. Preheat the oven to 230°C fan.
- 3. Put two tablespoons of oil into a small saucepan and place on a medium-low heat. Add the crushed garlic and cook for 10 seconds, then add the coriander, fish spice mix, chilli flakes, a quarter teaspoon of salt and a grind of black pepper.
- 4. Cook for four to five minutes, stirring frequently, for the garlic to really soften, then remove from the heat.
- 5. Place the cod in a parchment-lined roasting dish, skin side down, and brush with the remaining two tablespoons of oil. Season lightly with salt and pepper then spoon the coriander mix on top of each fillet. Spread it out so that the whole top is covered, then top each one with a bay leaf, if using, along with two slices of lemon. Roast for seven to eight minutes, or until the fish is cooked through.
- 6. Serve at once, with about a tablespoon of tahini sauce drizzled over, if using, and a wedge of lemon alongside.
Falastin: A Cookbook by Sami Tamimi and Tara Wigley, photography by Jenny Zarins, is published by Ebury Press. Available now.