Roasted whole whitefish with charmoula and French green lentils
The food traditionally served for the Jewish New Year is highly symbolic, reflecting abundance, a sweet harvest and leadership. Serving a whole fish, head intact, symbolizes faith as well as wholeness and hope. Here a Lake Superior whitefish is baked whole, deboned, then served with the head intact and accompanied with lentils. I used French green lentils, as they hold up better than the softer red lentils or the more familiar brown; black lentils would be avoided, as are all black foods on this hopeful holiday. And to dress the fish, a heady sauce of charmoula (a spicy Moroccan condiment), the recipe a nod to the southern path of the diaspora along the spice road.
The charmoula should be prepared at least a day in advance and keeps for up to 5 days.
From the story: Holiday menu of discovery
Charmoula
Place the garlic and salt in a mortar and pound it into a paste, or mash together on a cutting board. Transfer the paste to a food processor and process with the pepper, lemon juice, olive oil, chile flakes, paprika, cumin, parsley and cilantro. Refrigerate overnight. Makes 1 cup.
Lentils
In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, saute the onion, garlic and carrot in 2 tablespoons olive oil until they begin to caramelize, about 5 minutes.
Add the lentils and 2 cups of water and season with one-half teaspoon of salt and one-eighth teaspoon of pepper. Cover the pan and simmer gently over low heat until the lentils are al dente, about 45 minutes. Be careful not to overcook as lentils will quickly turn mushy. Drain any excess water.
Toss the lentils with the parsley and the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Adjust the seasoning and reserve. (The lentils may be made ahead of time and stored, covered and refrigerated, for up to 3 days.)
Roasted whole whitefish and assembly
Heat the oven to 400 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Season the fish inside and out with olive oil, salt and pepper. Place the fish (diagonally if necessary) on a baking sheet. Roast until firm to the touch or a thermometer registers 130 degrees when inserted in the thickest part of the fish, about 25 minutes.
Carefully remove the head and tail and debone the fish. Reassemble the fish on a platter with the head and tail, spoon the lentils around the fish and charmoula over the top. Garnish with lemon slices. Serve immediately.
Get our Cooking newsletter.
Your roundup of inspiring recipes and kitchen tricks.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
