Dag Mizrahi (Israeli Fish in Spicy Red Pepper Sauce)

• 6 skinless white fish fillets, about 900 g (sea bass, sea bream, grouper or grey mullet)
• ⅓ cup oil
• 2 level tbsp Moroccan paprika in oil (or sweet paprika)
• 1 tsp ground turmeric
• a pinch of ground cumin
• ½ tsp ground caraway (kimmel)
• 3 tomatoes, peeled and diced
• 1 tbsp tomato paste
• Red capsicum: 2 long red peppers (shushka) or red capsicums, cut into strips
• 1 fresh hot chilli, left whole
• 3 small and 2 large dried chillies, rinsed (for flavour, not eaten)
• 1 head garlic (about 8 cloves), peeled
• a little ground white pepper
• 1 tsp sugar
• salt, for the fish and the sauce
• 1 bunch coriander (half with its stalks, half chopped)
• about 2 cups water
• Lemon juice: juice of 1 lemon

Method

The cook speaks Hebrew; every step is written here in English. Tap a time to watch that step in the video. For subtitles, tap CC in the video, then Settings › Subtitles › Auto-translate › English.

1. Warm the oil over low heat in a wide, shallow pan (about 30 cm). Add the turmeric, caraway, cumin and paprika and fry for only a few seconds so the spices bloom without burning. 4:13
2. Add the diced tomatoes and the tomato paste and keep frying for about a minute. 4:39
3. Pour in the water, then add the pepper strips, the rinsed dried chillies, the whole fresh chilli, the garlic cloves and half the coriander with its stalks. Bring to the boil, cover and simmer on the lowest heat for 10 minutes. 4:52
4. Meanwhile sprinkle the fish lightly with salt on both sides and pour the lemon juice over it. Leave it about 10 minutes, no longer, so the lemon does not start to cook it. 6:59
5. Once the sauce has simmered about 20 minutes, season it with white pepper and the sugar, then lay in the fillets and spoon sauce over them. Cover and cook 15–20 minutes, depending on the fish. 8:25
6. Chop the rest of the coriander and add it 5 minutes before the end. Spoon sauce over the fish, gently shake the pan so the sauce settles around the fillets, and taste for salt. 10:00
7. Serve hot with plenty of sauce, lifting out the dried chillies as you plate. 11:30

Tip. Eaten on Friday night with challah to mop up the sauce; a salad or cauliflower rice keeps it lower in carbs. Hen's version blends Moroccan-style fish with Libyan chraime; cooked chickpeas can go in with the peppers.

The method is a summary in our words — the video shows every step.