(Serves 4)
Ingredients
1 cup soy oil
olive oil, for frying
1 onion, sliced into rings
A head of fresh garlic, coarsely chopped
1 tsp. hot paprika
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. ras al hanout (described below)
4 fillets/slices of saltwater fish (Chaddad recommends grouper)
1 long potato, sliced
1 long red pepper, sliced
1| Boil the potato slices for about ten minutes in water. Remove, dry and deep fry in the soy oil with the peppers until they brown. Remove from the heat and strain out the oil. Keep the oil.
2| In a wide saucepan (ovenproof if you plan to finish the dish in the oven), quickly fry the fish in olive oil for about half a minute on each side. Remove fish from the pan but keep the oil.
3| In the same pan, heat the olive oil to a low temperature and add the onion. Fry over low heat for about half an hour until the onions turn brown. Add the paprika and salt and mix until the oil turns red.
4| Add ras al hanout and a cup and a half of water and wait for it to boil. Add, in layers, the pepper, potato and on top, the fish. Sprinkle the garlic over the pan and return to the stove for 15 minutes over medium heat or, alternatively, put the pan in the oven at 350 degrees for 10 minutes.
To make ras al hanout: Grind together equal parts powdered dried rosebuds, licorice, cinnamon, nutmeg, dried ginger, white pepper and a double portion of black pepper.
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