Feed the masses with this flavourful centrepiece, a Middle Eastern-inspired barra with a bold spice blend, zesty lemon, and creamy tahini.
Lebanese Spicy Tahini Barramundi
Ingredients
- 1-2kg whole Australian barramundi, scaled & cleaned
- Spice Rub Mix
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp ground chilli
- 3-4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Sauce
- 1 1/2 cups fresh lemon juice
- 17 cloves of garlic, minced
- 1 cup fresh coriander, finely chopped
- 2 long red chillies, finely diced
- 1 tbsp ground coriander
- 1 tsp ground chilli
- 1 1/2 cups of tahini
- 4 cups of water
- 1 tbsp of salt
- 1/2 cup of pine nuts
Salad
- 1/2 cup of pine nuts
- 1/2 cup coriander, finely chopped
- 1-2 tbsp lemon juice
- 1-2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- Salt to taste
Method
- Preheat the oven to 200 degrees
- Place the fish onto a baking tray, cut three slits on either side. Add spice rub, olive oil and coat both sides. Bake in the oven for approx 30 mins or until flaky.
- Prepare fresh coriander salad by mixing together all the ingredients minus the pine nuts. Set aside in the fridge until needed.
- Meanwhile, to make the sauce, in a large frypan, mix 1 cup of pine nuts with 1-2 tbsp of olive oil and cook on medium heat for about 3 minutes or until lightly browned. Take half of the pine nuts and grind them with a mortar and pestle, you will need to add them to the sauce. Keep the remaining pine nuts for garnishing at the end.
- In the same frypan, heat 1-2 tbsp olive oil over med-high heat, add garlic, coriander and chilli and saute for a few mins. Reduce heat to med-low and add tahini, lemon juice, water, coriander, chilli and salt and bring to a simmer, stirring continuously. Add the smashed pine nuts and cook for approx 20mins. If the sauce looks too thick, add a cup of water. It should have a pouring custard consistency at the end.
- Once the fish is done, lay it out on a serving platter, pour the cooked tahini sauce on top of the fish, top with fresh coriander salad and browned pine nuts, serve hot with rice or Lebanese bread and enjoy.
