Ingredients
- For the butternut squash tagine
-
- 2 tbsp
olive oil - 1
onion, peeled, finely chopped - 2
garlic cloves, peeled, finely chopped - ½ tsp
cayenne pepper - 1 tsp
ground ginger - 1 tsp ground coriander
- 2 tsp ground
cumin - 1
cinnamon stick - 1 tsp ground
turmeric - 1
butternut squash, peeled, seeds removed, cut into 1cm/½in cubes - 200g/7oz canned
chopped tomatoes - 200ml/7fl oz
chicken stock - 3
preserved lemons, rind only, roughly chopped - 1 tbsp clear
honey - salt and freshly ground
black pepper - 4
black bream fillets, skin left on
- 2 tbsp
- For the herby couscous
-
- 400g/14oz
couscous - 600ml/1 pint 2fl oz hot
chicken stock - 2
lemons, zest only - 100g/3½oz toasted
flaked almonds - 1 tbsp chopped fresh
parsley - 1 tbsp chopped fresh
chives - 1 tbsp chopped
fresh coriander - 2 tbsp
olive oil
- 400g/14oz
- To serve
-
- small handful
coriander cress
- small handful
Preparation method
-
For the butternut squash tagine, heat one tablespoon of the olive oil in a frying pan over a medium heat. Add the onion and fry for 4-5 minutes. Add the garlic and fry for a further 3-4 minutes, or until softened.
-
Add the cayenne pepper, ground ginger, ground coriander, ground cumin, cinnamon stick and ground turmeric and stir well. Continue to cook for 3-4 minutes, or until the spices are fragrant.
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Add the butternut squash cubes and stir well to coat the squash in the spices.
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Add the chopped tomatoes, stock, preserved lemons and honey, then season, to taste, with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Bring the mixture to a simmer and cook for 3-4 minutes, or until the butternut squash is tender but still holds its shape.
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Heat the remaining tablespoon of oil in a frying pan over a medium heat.
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Season the skin side of the black bream fillets with salt and freshly ground black pepper. When the pan is hot, add the black bream fillets, skin-side down, and fry for 2-3 minutes, or until the skin is crisp and golden-brown.
-
Turn the black bream fillets over carefully and continue to fry for a further 1-2 minutes, then turn off the heat and leave the black bream fillets in the pan to cook on the residual heat until they’re just cooked through. (NB: The black bream fillets are cooked through when the flesh is opaque.)
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Meanwhile, for the herby couscous, place the couscous into a large bowl and pour over the hot chicken stock. Cover the bowl with cling film and set aside until the couscous has absorbed all of the stock, about three minutes.
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Fluff up the couscous using a fork, then stir in the lemon zest, flaked almonds, chopped herbs and olive oil until well combined.
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To serve, place a 6-7cm/2-3in chefs’ ring into the centre of a serving plate. Spoon a quarter of the herby couscous into the chefs’ ring and pack down gently. Spoon over a quarter of the butternut squash tagine. Carefully remove the chefs’ ring. Top each portion with one of the pan-fried black bream fillets. Sprinkle over the coriander cress. Repeat the process three more times to create four plates.