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Epicurious

Poached Fish with Saffron Vermicelli

For this delightful and simple Moroccan dish, use fish fillets—monkfish or any firm-fleshed fish such as bream, turbot, haddock, cod—and have them skinned.

Recipe information

  • Yield

    serves 4

Ingredients

1 1/2 pounds fish fillets, skinned
Salt
10 ounces dry vermicelli
Salt
1/2 teaspoon crushed saffron threads or powdered saffron
4–5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Pepper
4 tablespoons chopped parsley or cilantro

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Poach the fish in barely simmering (not boiling) salted water for 5–10 minutes, until the flesh looks opaque when you cut into it.

    Step 2

    At the same time, break the vermicelli in your hand into small pieces and cook in about 5 cups of boiling salted water with the saffron until just tender, stirring vigorously so that the vermicelli do not stick together. Drain, reserving about 1 cup of the saffron water to use as a sauce. (Keep the remainder if you like—there is very little left—to pour into a soup or a stew.) Beat the olive oil into the water, season with salt and pepper, and add the parsley or cilantro.

    Step 3

    Serve the fish on a bed of vermicelli, with the sauce poured over.

Cover of Claudia Roden's The New Book of Middle Easter Food, featuring a blue filigree bowl filled with Meyer lemons and sprigs of mint.
Reprinted with permission from The New Book of Middle Eastern Food, copyright © 2000 by Claudia Roden, published by Knopf. Buy the full book on Amazon or Bookshop.
TagsNoodlePasta & NoodlesMoroccanNorth AfricanAfricanFishSeafoodSaffronHerbs & SpicesMainDinnerNut FreeDairy FreeEasyQuickWeeknight Meals30 Minutes or LessPoachCookbooks
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