Rainbow trout with harissa, yoghurt, fried Lebanese bread and chickpeas

Ingredients:

Harissa: (makes lots)

8 dried guajillo chillies, de-stemmed and de-seeded
2 tsp toasted cumin seed
2 tsp toasted caraway seed
2 tsp toasted coriander seeds
1 tablespoon smoked paprika
3 cloves garlic
½ cup extra virgin olive oil
½ cup reserved chilli soaking water
1 tsp fine sea salt

To make the harissa, toast your chillies in a dry hot skillet until fragrant, then add them to a bowl. Cover them with boiling water and cover the bowl with a plate so that the heat is trapped. Allow them so soak for about 10–15 minutes. Toast the cumin, coriander and caraway seeds in a dry hot pan as well, until fragrant and then grind them up as best you can in a mortar and pestle. Set aside. After soaking, remove the chilies from the water, reserving a ½ cup of the soaking water, and combine them with the water and all the remaining ingredients in a blender, and blend until as smooth as your machine will make it. Harissa is typically a thick paste, but I like it a little more loose, so that it falls off a spoon. Keep tightly sealed in the refrigerator for several weeks or divide into smaller containers and freeze for several months.

Serves 2

1 rainbow trout, filleted and pin-boned (skin on or off, your choice)
2 Tbsp home-made harissa*
1 tin (400g) chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 round of Lebanese bread, split through the edges to produce two thin rounds
Extra virgin olive oil for dressing and frying
2 tsp best quality za’atar
1 Lebanese cucumber
½ red onion, sliced thinly
1 small handful fresh mint leaves
Zest and juice of ½ a lemon + ½ a lemon, cut into wedges, to serve
2 heaped tablespoons of thick plain yoghurt

*If you don’t have time to make your own harissa, you can make pre-made harissa a bit better. Empty the harissa tube into a small bowl and add in 2 teaspoons of smoked paprika, 2 tablespoons EVOO, 1 clove garlic, finely grated, and a teaspoon or 2 of water just to thin it a touch as I like a thinner texture.

Method:

Preheat your oven to 200C conventional (180C fan-forced). Add your chickpeas to a baking paper-lined sheet tray, and toss them with 1 tablespoon of the home-made harissa. Sprinkle with salt, a teaspoon of olive oil and roast for about 15–20 minutes. After this, take your rainbow trout and brush it with olive oil and sprinkle it with salt. Bake skin-side up, on top of the chickpeas, for about 7–8 minutes, until the fillet is opaque and flaking easily. Remove from the oven and set aside. The chickpeas won’t be completely crispy throughout. You can peel off the skin of the trout, fry it up in a non-stick pan or cast-iron skillet to get it crispy, or discard it if you don’t like it. I encourage you to try it though, as it’s one of my favourite parts! Like a fish chip.

While the chickpeas are roasting, you can fry the bread. Use a large skillet or pot and add olive oil to a depth of about 1–2 cm. Let it get hot enough that when you add a small piece of bread it takes about 15–20 seconds for it to become golden (if you have a thermometer, this is about 170C). Fry torn pieces of the bread in the oil, just a few at a time so they don’t crowd the pan, until they are completely golden brown and then set aside on a rack to drain of excess oil. While still hot, sprinkle liberally with the za’atar. Set aside.

Bash the cucumber all over with a rolling pin or mallet and then cut it into irregular bite sized pieces. Add to a bowl with the sliced onion, salt, black pepper, mint, lemon juice and zest of ½ a lemon plus about 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Toss this together just before serving so it doesn’t get too watery.

Serve the chickpeas and fish either warm or room temperature with yoghurt, cucumber salad, some extra harissa, lemon wedges and of course, lots of fried bread.