Sayadieh

Ingredients

• 700g firm white fish fillets, such as cod or hake
• 350g basmati rice
• 4 large onions
• 120ml olive oil
• 1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ground turmeric
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 tsp fine salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 750ml fish or vegetable stock
• 3 tbsp pine nuts
• 3 tbsp flaked almonds
• 100g tahini
• Juice of 1 1/2 lemons
• 2 garlic cloves
• 10g flat-leaf parsley

Before you cook

• Rinse the rice in several changes of water until it runs clear, then soak it for 20 minutes and drain
• Slice the onions into thin half moons
• Cut the fish into large pieces and season them with half the cumin, half a teaspoon of the salt and the pepper
• Crush the garlic to a paste with a pinch of salt
• Chop the parsley

Steps

1. Warm 5 tablespoons of the olive oil in a heavy pot over medium heat and add the sliced onions.
2. Cook the onions for 30 minutes, stirring every few minutes, until they shrink right down and turn a deep chestnut brown, well past golden but stopping short of burnt.
3. Lift out about a third of the onions and drain them on kitchen paper to use as a garnish.
4. Add 250ml of the stock to the onions in the pot and simmer for 3 minutes to lift the colour off the base.
5. Blitz this onion mixture with a stick blender until smooth and very dark, then stir in the remaining stock.
6. Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a frying pan and fry the pine nuts and almonds for 2 minutes until golden, then lift them out.
7. Fry the seasoned fish in the same pan for 2 minutes on each side, until just coloured but not cooked through, then set it aside.
8. Tip the drained rice into the dark onion stock and add the remaining cumin, the ground coriander, cinnamon, turmeric, bay leaf and remaining salt.
9. Bring it to a boil, then cover, drop the heat to its lowest setting, and cook for 15 minutes.
10. Lay the fish pieces on top of the rice, replace the lid, and cook for a further 8 minutes.
11. Take the pot off the heat and leave it covered and undisturbed for 10 minutes.
12. Whisk the tahini with the lemon juice and garlic paste, then beat in cold water a spoonful at a time until the tarator pours like double cream.
13. Fluff the rice with a fork, keeping the fish pieces whole, and turn it out onto a platter.
14. Scatter over the reserved fried onions, the toasted nuts and the parsley, and serve the tarator alongside.