Samke Harra

Ingredients

• 1 whole sea bass or red snapper, about 1.3kg, scaled and gutted
• 6 tbsp olive oil
• 1 1/2 tsp fine salt
• 150g tahini
• 120ml lemon juice
• 150ml cold water
• 8 garlic cloves
• 50g fresh coriander
• 2 red chillies
• 1 red bell pepper
• 1 tsp Aleppo pepper flakes
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 3 tbsp pine nuts
• 3 tbsp walnut pieces
• 1 lemon, to serve

Before you cook

• Slash the fish three times on each side down to the bone
• Rub the fish inside and out with 2 tablespoons of the olive oil and 1 teaspoon of the salt
• Chop the fresh coriander, stems included
• Crush the garlic to a paste with a pinch of salt
• Deseed and finely chop the chillies and the red pepper
• Cut the lemon into wedges

Steps

1. Heat your oven to 200C.
2. Lay the fish in an oiled roasting dish and roast it for 20 minutes, until the flesh at the thickest slash turns opaque.
3. Toast the pine nuts and walnuts in a dry pan over medium heat for 3 minutes, shaking often, then tip them out.
4. Warm 3 tablespoons of the olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat and cook the chopped red pepper and chillies for 5 minutes.
5. Add the garlic paste, ground coriander, cumin and Aleppo pepper, and fry for 1 minute until fragrant.
6. Stir in three quarters of the chopped fresh coriander and cook for 2 minutes, until it darkens and slumps.
7. Whisk the tahini with the lemon juice in a bowl, where it will seize and go stiff and pale.
8. Whisk in the cold water a little at a time until the tahini loosens into a smooth, pourable cream.
9. Pour the tahini into the pan with the coriander and garlic, add the remaining half teaspoon of salt, and warm it over low heat for 3 minutes, stirring, until it just steams.
10. Pour the sauce over and around the roasted fish, spooning it into the slashes.
11. Return the dish to the oven for 12 minutes, until the sauce has set slightly and darkened in patches.
12. Scatter over the toasted nuts, the remaining fresh coriander and the last tablespoon of olive oil.
13. Serve with lemon wedges and let people lift the fish off the bone at the table.