Cumin Get Happy! Kousbariya

Pretty much 90% of the food we cook is of some Mediterranean influence, with about 98% of that being Italian. Well, tonight I pulled out my bible of Med cooking, "The Mediterranean Diet Cookbook" by Nancy Harmon Jenkins and made the most delish meal so far to date!

Seriously, we are adding it to our weekly meal plan, it's that good! Let me share it with you!

Kousbariya-A Lebanese fish baked in a tomato-cilantro sauce

OK, seeing it in a picture makes it look a bit scary, but from my mouth to G_d's ear it is good!

Want to try it yourself?

Here's the recipe (page 259)

2 pounds firm-textured white fish (I used cod)

a little flour for dusting the fish

1/4 cup olive oil

1 medium onion, halved and thinly sliced

1 garlic clove, chopped

3 very ripe tomatoes, seeded and chopped (I used one 28oz can of diced tomatoes)

1 tablespoon ground Cumin

1 cup minced cilantro

salt and pepper to taste

Cut the fish into serving size pieces about 1 inch thick.  Lightly dust the fish pieces with flour.  Heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a heavy saute pan over medium to high heat and, when it is almost smoking, add the pieces of fish.  /saute the fish, a few pieces at a time, for 2 or 3 minutes to a side.

When all the fish is done, discard the frying fat, wipe the pan clean.  Add the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil to the pan and over medium-low heat gently saute the onion and garlic until soft but not brown-about 10-15 minutes.  Add the tomatoes and cook, stirring occasionally, until the tomatoes have given off their juices and started to thicken-about 10 minutes.  Stir in the cumin and cilantro.  Taste for seasoning and add salt and pepper if necessary.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Arrange the fish pieces in a shallow baking or gratin dish and cover them with sauce.  Bake for about 20 minutes or until the fish is thoroughly cooked and the sauce is bubbling.

Then dig in!

As a side my husband made Bruschetta on French bread that I baked yesterday. All ingredients from our garden...can't get any fresher!