Sumac and zaatar encrusted snapper with roasted chickpea salad

Enjoying the range of fresh Australian seafood, and eager to explore delicious ways of presenting it, I use snapper here and cook it in a Middle Eastern style with classic flavours and traditional herbs and spices from across the ocean.

file:7292_cfm2-136-sumac-snapper.jpg

• serves

  6

Ingredients

• 2 eggs
• 4 x 200 g snapper fillets, each cut into 4 pieces
• 150 g potato flour
• 40 g  zaatar (see Note)
• 40 g sumac
• 250 ml (1 cup) vegetable oil

Roasted chickpea salad

• 400 g can chickpeas, drained
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 155 g (1 cup) pine nuts or slivered almonds
• 2 bunches coriander, leaves roughly chopped

Dressing

• 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 2 long red chillies, finely chopped
• 2 lemons, juiced
• 60 ml (¼ cup) olive oil

Instructions

Preheat oven to 180°C. In a bowl, whisk the eggs with salt and pepper, then add the fish and gently mix to coat. Set aside.

Mix the flour, zaatar and sumac in a bowl, then dredge fish pieces in flour mixture until well coated. Set aside on a tray.

To make the chickpea salad, pat chickpeas dry with paper towel, then spread on a baking tray. Drizzle with oil and toss to coat. Roast for 5 minutes, then add pine nuts to the tray and roast for a further 5 minutes or until lightly roasted. Cool slightly, then gently toss in a bowl with the coriander. To make the dressing, combine all ingredients in a small bowl. Season and pour over salad.

Heat half the vegetable oil in a heavy-based frying pan (preferably cast-iron) over high heat. Fry the fish, in 2 batches, adding the remaining oil to the second batch, for 1 minute each side or until golden. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towel.

Spread the chickpea salad over a wide, shallow platter, top with snapper and serve immediately.

* Zaatar, available from delis and Middle Eastern food shops, is a Middle Eastern spice blend of thyme leaves and sumac.

As seen in Feast magazine, Issue 7, pg104.

Photography by Mark Roper.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.