Samke Harra

The Method for Samke Harra

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1. Heat the oven to 200°C / 400°F. Slash the fish three times on each side, rub with oil and salt and fill the cavity with lemon slices.

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2. Bake on a lined tray 35 to 40 minutes, until the flesh at the thickest point pulls cleanly from the bone. Tip the tray and reserve the juices.

   Mark done Start 35 min timer

3. Whisk the tahini with the lemon juice — it will seize and stiffen, which is normal.

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4. Loosen it with the warm fish juices, adding a spoonful at a time, until it pours like double cream.

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5. Fry the garlic and chillies in 2 tbsp oil for 1 minute, no more, and stir them into the sauce off the heat.

   Mark done Start 1 min timer

6. Stir in the walnuts, ground coriander, salt and most of the fresh coriander.

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7. Spoon the sauce generously over the warm fish, scatter with pine nuts and the last of the coriander, and serve.

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Things to Watch For

1. The sauce never goes in the oven. Heat splits tahini.
2. Loosen with the fish juices, not water.
3. Fresh coriander in last, off the heat, or it goes drab.

Common Substitutions & Variations

• Dried chilli flakes can stand in for the red chillies. Heat varies a great deal between chillies and between jars, so start with a small pinch and add more to taste.
• An eighth of a teaspoon of garlic powder per clove is the stand-in usually given when you are out of fresh garlic; it will not brown the same way, and it burns easily, so add it with the liquid.

On the Table Alongside

Plain rice · Flatbread · A tomato salad

Leftovers

Refrigerated for 2 days. The sauce thickens; loosen with lemon and water. Do not freeze.

Nutrition per Serving

Per serving, calculated from the ingredient list with USDA FoodData Central figures (SR Legacy). A calculation, not a laboratory analysis: brands, cuts and how you measure change the real numbers. How the figures are worked out.