NSM: Fish with Tahini Sauce

October is National Seafood Month (NSM), and we asked our employees to share their favorite seafood recipes. 

Liz Tarquin, VP of Strategic Growth, is a budding chef and enjoys cooking in her spare time. Here she shares a recipe she created for fish with tahini sauce.

Liz commented that she loves tahini and keeps a jar each of the ‘regular’ kind and black. If you have never tried using black tahini, she encourages you to try it – black tahini on roasted carrots with a sprinkling of red chili is an all-star Halloween dish. Black sesame with coconut milk and honey also makes a pretty fine ice cream, resembling spackle, and soooo addicting.

This recipe serves 6.

Ingredients for the tahini sauce

• 1/3 to ½ cup tahini, well stirred
• 2 medium garlic cloves, (2 t.)
• 2 T. fresh lemon juice
• ¹⁄₂ tsp. kosher salt

Ingredients for the fish

• ¹⁄₄ cup plus 3 T. olive oil, divided
• 2 medium onions, thinly sliced (3⅓ cups)
• 6 4-6-oz. cod, hake, or halibut fillets
• 2 T. fresh lemon juice
• 1 T.  finely grated lemon zest
• 2 t. ground cumin
• 2 jalapenos, stemmed, seeded, and thinly sliced (⅓ cup)
• ½ pint cherry tomatoes, halved
• 3 T. sliced almonds
• ¹⁄₂ cup coarsely chopped Italian parsley leaves
• 1 t. ground sumac
• Lemon wedges, to serve

Directions

1. Make the tahini sauce: In a food processor or blender (I use my Bullet), whiz the tahini, garlic, lemon juice, salt, and 1/4-1/3 cup cold water to make a thick and creamy sauce. 
2. Heat a large cast iron or non-stick oven-going skillet over medium-low heat. Add 2-3 T. olive oil and the onions, cooking and stirring occasionally, until browned, about 10–12 minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool to room temperature.
3. Preheat the oven to 425°F.
4. In a shallow bowl, stir together the lemon juice and zest, and 1/2 t. cumin; season to taste with salt and black pepper, then add the fish fillets and turn several times to coat. Set aside to marinate at room temperature for 10 minutes. (Don’t leave it for much longer than this, otherwise the fish will start to break down.)
5. Heat the cast iron skillet back up to medium-high heat and add 2-3 T. olive oil. Add the fish to the skillet (without crowding the pan) and cook, turning once halfway through, just until both sides are golden, about 2 minutes per side. Transfer the fish to a 9-by-13-inch baking dish (large enough to fit the fish in one layer) and set aside.
6. Stir the cooled onions and the chiles into the reserved tahini sauce, then pour the sauce over the fish, smoothing the surface with the back of a spoon. Sprinkle with the tomatoes and almonds, transfer to the oven, and roast until the fish is just cooked through, 6–8 minutes. 
7. Switch the oven to the broiler setting and continue cooking until browned and bubbly, about 3 minutes more. 
8. Sprinkle with parsley and sumac and serve warm or at room temperature, with lemon wedges on the side.

Thank you, Liz, for sharing this recipe with us. We hope this inspires our readers to try this recipe and look for other ways to enjoy more sustainable seafood.