H’raime – Spicy Tunisian Fish Dish with Fried Lemons

Oh what a dish!

This one is another Friday night tradition in our home…and beyond the memories and the tradition, this fish is one of the BEST tasting dish out there…

It didn’t take long for this well-known delicious North-African fish dish to take over Israel…and now it is a dish that is served in many Israeli homes as an integral part of a Friday night Shabbat dinner menu.

H’raime is one of those dishes that is strongly associated with that Friday Challah bread and its ingredients that go so well together create the perfect pool of flavors for a fish to swim in 🙂

Like some HEAT?

H’raime has a kick to it, however the heat is so well balanced… and being a fish dish that is usually served with a generous piece of challah bread makes it the perfect dish to introduce some heat to your table…

You will need:

3-4 large fillets cut pieces of Fresh Halibut Fish (or any other similar white fish) I like skin on fillets of a relatively firm meaty fish that can hold it shape while cooking in sauce for a little while.

3 tbsp. Olive Oil

½ Medium Onion

4 cloves Garlic

2 Lemons

1 red Bell Pepper

1 Long Hot Green Pepper

4-5 largeTomatoes

½ cup (canned) Crushed Tomatoes

1 cup Water

Parsley

Cilantro

1½ tsp. Harissa

1½ tsp. Salt

1 tsp. Black Pepper

1 tbsp. Sugar

1½ tsp. Sweet Paprika

For Plating:

Fresh Parsley

Fresh Cilantro

Fried Lemon slices

This Fish has something to say… 🙂

I LOVE Halibut! It is meaty with mild flavor and clean taste. It is also ultra-low in fat content and super healthy. Halibut’s dense and firm texture holds well while being cooked in sauce, on the grill or seared in a pan. For this dish I suggest to cut into relatively big portions with skin on that will help to keep it together.

* Goes without saying: you may use any other white fish you like.

Let’s get to work!

We are starting with the fried lemons…

Cut one lemon into thin slices (a little less than ¼ inch a slice thickness). Time to blanch the lemon pieces to get rid of the bitterness: drop the slices into boiling water for two minutes (no more). Some of the lemon’s meaty part might come off and that’s totally O.K. Remove the lemon slices from the boiling water, drain carefully and dry them well onto a paper towel. We are working with one pot. Choose a large and wide pot with a cover that can contain all sauce ingredients and fish portions and warm the olive oil on high heat.

Carefully add the dry lemon slices to the oil and sprinkle with a little sugar on each slice. Fry the lemon slices on both sides for about 2-3 minute a side.
They look gorgeous! Remove the fried slices sprinkle with some salt and set aside.

Let’s build our sauce flavors! Traditionally this dish has a chunky sauce, so cut the ingredients roughly to leave some body to them.
Slice the onion thinly though and cut the slices in half. Using the same pot, sauté the onion in the olive oil remaining on medium heat. Create a length wide slit to the side of the long hot green pepper and add to the pot. Cut the red bell peppers into medium sized wedges and cut them in half. Add to the pot and continue sautéing mixing every so often.
Slice the garlic cloves and add them to the party.
Time for some tomatoes…cut the tomato into medium cubes and add to the pot. Add the Harissa to the pot to elevate the flavors.

Add sugar, spices and salt and mix well.
Cook for couple of minutes. Add ½ cup of crushed tomatoes and 1 cup of water and continue to cook on low heat for about 10 minutes. Don’t forget to mix every few minutes to show your sauce you care 🙂

Prepare your beautiful fish pieces for a swim by squeezing some lemon juice on them (half a lemon usually does the job). Carefully add the fish portions to the sauce arranging them around allowing the sauce to cover them almost to the top. Add a nice bunch of fresh parsley and fresh cilantro (stem and all) right at the center of the pot. We are going to “fish” 🙂 the greens out later so try to keep them together. Cover the pot and cook on the lowest heat until the fish is firm- it takes about 20-25 minutes, depending on the thickness of the fish portions.

Uncover the pot and “fish out” the cooked greens using tongs.

The dish is ready!

All it needs is some fresh greens: add chopped fresh parsley and tear a few fresh leaves of cilantro and add on top.
Arrange a few slices of fried lemon on top of the fish.

This sauce calls (actually screams!) for some good bread. We usually serve it along with a generous piece of Challah bread.

Enjoy!

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Quick Recipe:

H’raime Spicy Fish with Fried Lemons-

Blanch the Lemon slices:

Drop the slices in boiling water for 2 minutes.

Drain and dry well before frying.

Fry in Olive Oil on high heat for 2-3 minutes on each side.

Remove from Oil and set aside.

Sauté thinly sliced Onion and Long Hot Green Pepper.

Add Red Bell Pepper wedges and continue sautéing.

Add Harissa and thinly sliced Garlic and mix well.

Add chopped Tomato, Sugar, Sweet Paprika, Salt and Black Pepper.

Mix well and cook for couple more minutes.

Stir in Canned Crushed Tomatoes.

Squeeze Lemon juice on the Fish portions.

Add Fish portions arranging them around.

Arrange a bunch of Fresh Parsley and Fresh Cilantro in the center of the pot covering the fish.

Cover the pot and cook for about 20 minutes (depends on the size/thickness of fish)

Remove cooked Parsley and Cilantro

Arrange Fried Lemon slices and sprinkle with Fresh Parsley and Fresh Cilantro.

Serve along with Challah bread.