Salmon Tagine with New Potatoes, Tomatoes, and Olives
Adapted from Ghillie Başan’s recipe for monkfish in her wonderful book, Tagines and Couscous: Delicious recipes for Moroccan one-pot cooking. Note that you don’t have to own a tagine to make a tagine. A frying pan or casserole with a lid will work well.
- 1 cup chermoula
- 1 lb sockeye or coho salmon filet sliced into four serving pieces
- 8 new potatoes
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 medium red onion
- 1 red or yellow pepper
- 4 cloves garlic
- 16 cherry tomatoes
- A handful of kalamata olives Be bold, leave the pits in the olives for more flavour.
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp freshly-ground pepper
Coat salmon pieces with 1/3 cup of chermoula, cover and marinate in the fridge for about 2 hours. While salmon is marinating, prepare the potatoes. Peel and cut into 3 or 4 bite-sized chunks. Cook in boiling, salted water for about 8 to 10 minutes, to the point they are still al dente, not fully cooked. Drain, cool under running water, drain again and set aside. Heat the olive oil in your cooking vessel over medium heat. Once it’s shimmering, add the salmon, skin side down, cover, and cook for about 5 minutes. Flip and sear the flesh side for about 1 minute. Remove from the pot to a plate and set aside.Chop the onion and the pepper into pieces around the same size as the potato. Add to the pan, along with a splash of white wine, water or vegetable stock. Cover and cook until softened, about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally and adding a splash of liquid as necessary. Add the garlic and potatoes, cover and cook for another 5 minutes, until potatoes are fully cooked. Add tomatoes and olives and the remaining chermoula, then stir, cover and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, until tomatoes have burst their skins. Push the vegetables aside and place the salmon back in the pan. Cover and cook for 1 or 2 minutes, until salmon is fully cooked. Remove from the heat, uncover and allow to sit for a couple of minutes before serving.Serve in wide bowls with lots of bread on the side for mopping up the juices.