A few weeks ago, after several months of half-assed planning, The BF and I trekked out to Connecticut for an evening with a few good friends. It had been decided way back in December that it would be absolutely necessary for me to learn some classic Israeli cooking from his friend Zig. It’s an area I know absolutely nothing about and judging by the delicious smells of spices wafting out of Zig’s fridge, I knew I had to learn. Chitlins, allow me to introduce to you one of the most awesome dishes I have had the courtesy of tasting, consuming and enjoying that actually {gasp!} involves fish.
Pick yourself up off the floor, I know that was a statement to rock anyone’s world. The BF nearly went into throes of ecstasy when he saw me happily consuming the halibut on my plate. I mean he’d only been trying for two years to get me to like fish, and suddenly it had happened.
Look at that red peppery goodness.
Now, before you think I’ve gone and tossed all my sea creature prejudices you can just sit right back down and I’ll fix that for you. I do not eat crustaceans, things that crawl on the ocean floor, have more than four legs, or the potential to eat me if it were to come to hand to hand combat. Also, if it smells like cat food, I’m out. You’ll find that covers basically every category of seafood out there.
Little bit of oil and the spice mix - this is how your dish should start.
But Zig is a freakin’ miracle worker. He prepared for us a fish dish that has been in his family for several generations, I do believe. One of those awesome dishes that has a secret ingredient! Can you believe it? Apparently all the great dishes with secret ingredients died out in my family, and so I have been desperately searching for one, and whaddyah know, it crept up in a fish dish.
After adding enough water, this is how thick the sauce should look.
Let me tell you something about Zig. The man is a walking encyclopedia…on tea. I think what I find the most hilarious when I visit his apartment, is that he has a mini wine refrigerator, but it’s all packed with exotic and expensive teas. I mean, if it works, who am I to contradict it? He’s traveled to China simply to search out the best tea regions. He has books, upon books of tea, and he’s actually read them. He can recommend them to you based on what kind of knowledge you wish to gather. I actually have one right now, haven’t read too much of it yet, but the pictures are pretty rad.
Simmering the fishes.
Here’s another thing about Zig. He has “The Glass Man” disease. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, maybe this will help. Remember that movie Unbreakable with Bruce Willis and Samuel L. Jackson, the one that came out a hot second after The Sixth Sense, so everyone was skeptical to see it because they seemed too similar in plot? Well I saw it, and you should too by the way because, hello, Samuel L. Jackson is the man and Bruce Willis is freakin’ hot.
Dinner is served, European style, at 10 pm. (That's why the image is so dark)
But Jackson’s character has brittle bone disease, also called Lobstein syndrome. The wikipedia article has all the specifics but this is what you need to know: obviously if you’re going to have a disease you want the badassest of them all, which can only be determined based upon whether Samuel L. Jackson portrays a character with your disease. Game over, tally the score.
Get all up in that fishy goodness.
Of course this made me incredibly paranoid to meet Zig the first time because I am the biggest klutz I know (remember that whole lack of proprioception thing?). The last thing I wanted was for me to trip, rebound of a wall and then shatter Zig. Believe me, if anyone was going to do it, it’d be me. Luckily, I have visited Zig on a number of occasions, sometimes even consumed alcohol on those occasions, and I have yet to break him. I think Zig’s pretty relieved on that account, and I’m pretty proud of myself too.
But enough chatter, I know you’re all on the edge of your seat waiting for this recipe. I don’t have exact measurements, because all the best family recipes work like that, but I’ll try my best.
Proof that I ate it.
*Just a Note: I suggest buying your spices super fresh at an Indian or Israeli market, it makes all the difference. Otherwise, try looking for good Spanish paprika (not smoked) it has a better flavor than the generic stuff.
The Best Fish Dish
Serves 4
4 large hunks of halibut, scales removed (you want them to look like little steaks)
coarse ground salt
1 head garlic, minced (about 2 heaping tbsp)
1 heaping tbsp cumin
2 heaping tbsp paprika
2 tsp ground cardamom seeds
chili powder to taste (or if you happen to have your own secret Israeli chili blend toss that in there)
about 2 cups water
Season both sides of the halibut with the salt. In a small bowl mix together the spices and garlic. Heat a large skillet over medium heat and warm some oil in it. Add the spices to the oil and cook until fragrant, about two minutes. You should have a nice thick, but viscous, paste. Ladle in the water, 1/4 cup at a time, stirring constantly between additions to create a kind of stew. You want it a little thin, but not too runny.
Bring the sauce to a nice gentle simmer. Add the halibut steaks to the sauce and ladle the sauce of the top of the steaks. Cover the pot and let simmer for about 10 minutes. Flip the steaks and cook for another 10 minutes or until cooked through and tender.
Serve with a large portion of sauce and bread for mopping up the extras.
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