Ingredients
For seabass
200gm seabass fillet
2 tsp salt
80ml corn oil
2 cloves peeled garlic, crushed
1 tsp fresh thyme
Unsalted butter cubes, to taste
Kuku sabzi
(Wash all fresh herbs, let dry then chop into a fine julienne. Quantity of herbs can be increased or decreased according to your preference. Besides select hypermarkets, Zereshk is also available at the Iranian stall at Global Village).
100gm walnuts, chopped
400gm baby spinach, chopped
200gm fresh parsley, chopped
100gm fresh mint, chopped
200gm fresh coriander, chopped
200gm fresh dill, chopped
40gm fresh tarragon, chopped
80gm baby gem lettuce, chopped
100gm spring onion, chopped
4 whole fresh eggs
1 tsp baking powder
30ml corn oil
100gm dried barberries (zereshk), or cranberries
Salt, to taste
70gm yoghurt
Method
Kuku Sabzi
1. Add the walnuts to a hot pan and roast for 10 minutes, then dice them. (Or roast them in the oven for 3-4 minutes at 150C).
2. Soak the barberries in warm water for 20 minutes. Drain.
3. In a mixing bowl, combine all the herbs, baking powder, walnuts, barberries and egg. Rest mixture for 10 minutes. (Tip: Do not salt until the last second to preserve freshness of herbs.)
4. Heat a nonstick pan, coat liberally with corn oil and pour the mixture in. Add salt. On medium heat, cook one side, then take the pan off the heat and place the pan in a pre-heated oven at 200C for about 15 mins, until the centre of the egg is firm.
5. Remove pan from the oven, flip and continue cooking the other side on medium flame for a few minutes. Turn off flame, and let it rest for 10 minutes. Run a knife through the edges of the pan, then flip kuku sabzi on to a plate. Slice into wedges.
Seabass
1. Season the fish fillets with salt on both sides.
2. Add corn oil to a non-stick pan and let it heat up, then add crushed garlic and thyme. Add the salted fish and cook on low heat. After 10 minutes, flip and leave to cook. (Tip: to test if fish is crispy, touch for bubbles or movement. If there’s no movement, you have perfectly crisped fish.)
3. Turn off flame. Rest for 2 minutes in pan, then add a cube or two of butter to coat the fish.
6. To plate, brush some barberries onto the serving plate. Add seabass on top. Garnish Kuku Sabzi slices with some whole roasted walnuts, yoghurt and fresh herbs.
Photo courtesy: Anas Thacharpadikkal/GN
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