It has become more evident overtime that the success of a dish has less to do with the recipe, and everything to do with the state of mind of the one cooking it. Thanks, Yotam Ottolenghi, for highlighting this on the New York Times, titling: When cooking is about ease, not easy. With it, he also published the recipe on fish koftas in tomato and cardamom sauce.
I cook for many reasons. As an escape in avoiding certain dreaded tasks. To prepare routine family meals. Sometimes, it is to hone a particular cooking technique. Other times, to work on variations of a recipe. Or to cook a dish in order to post on this blog. By and large, these are practical reasons— a means to an end. They don’t necessarily inspire and produce the best results. Rather, on average, mediocre dishes or a little better, are the norm. Making spectacular dishes means “finding a quiet space to cook and properly engage.” It’s as simple as that. The mood, the atmosphere or the occasion makes all the difference. It has the power to transform an everyday dish to something truly special. It has taken me many years to come to this important realization.
Simply put: cook with your heart and mind, everything would ultimately come together. Try this timeless cooking technique of engaging your inner chef. It has worked for me!
This tomato sauce is amazing–well balanced and layered with a spicy kick to it. Hands down, the best tomato sauce I’ve ever made. Time froze as the sauce slowly simmered and developed its full flavor. Since I can’t find fresh mackerel fillets, I settled with two cans of mackerel in sunflower oil. Can’t believe there are no fresh fish in the making of these fish koftas. Invariably, the best and freshest ingredients make a good dish possible. We merely facilitate the making of it.
I’m linking this post to the potluck at IHCC.
Took this shot as the setting sun cast a long shadow on the raw fish balls.
Fish Koftas in Tomato and Cardamom Sauce
Ingredients
- FOR THE SAUCE:
- ⅓ cup/75 milliliters olive oil
- 8 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 3 green chile peppers, such as serrano, finely sliced (and seeded if you don’t like heat)
- Salt
- 2 large celery stalks, trimmed and finely chopped
- 1 banana shallot (or a large regular shallot), finely chopped
- 1 pound/500 grams ripe vine tomatoes (4 to 5 medium), blitzed in a food processor for 1 minute (or use 2 cups canned tomato purée)
- 3 tablespoons tomato paste
- 2 tablespoons granulated or caster sugar
- 1 ½ teaspoons ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon lime zest, plus 1 tablespoon lime juice (from 1 lime)
- 8 cardamom pods, crushed in a mortar and pestle, skins discarded (or use a scant 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom)
- ¾ cup plus 2 tablespoons/200 milliliters dry white wine
- 2 tablespoons/5 grams finely chopped cilantro or coriander leaves, for serving
- 2 tablespoons/5 grams finely chopped dill, for serving
- FOR THE FISH KOFTAS:
- 4 mackerel fillets (from 2 roughly 1-pound/500-gram fish), skin and pin bones removed, flesh roughly chopped into 3/4-inch/2-centimeter pieces (for about 12 ounces/320 grams of chopped fish)
- About 5 ounces/150 grams drained tinned sardines in olive oil, roughly chopped
- 1 heaping tablespoon/10 grams pistachios, roughly chopped
- ½ cup/10 grams loosely packed roughly chopped fresh dill
- 1 loosely packed cup/15 grams roughly chopped fresh cilantro leaves (coriander leaves)
- 1 tablespoon finely grated zest (from 2 limes); cut the zested limes into wedges or juice them, for serving
- 1 green chile pepper (such as serrano), finely chopped
- 1 egg, beaten
- 5 tablespoons/70 grams potato flour, divided
- 3 tablespoons/50 milliliters vegetable oil
Instructions
Start with the sauce: In a large sauté pan (choose one that has a lid), heat olive oil, garlic, half the sliced chile pepper and a good pinch of salt over medium-low heat. Gently fry for 6 minutes, stirring frequently, until garlic is soft and golden. Remove 2 tablespoons of the oil (with some of the chile and garlic) and set aside.
Add celery, shallot and 1 1/2 teaspoons salt to the same pan and continue to cook for 8 minutes, stirring often, until soft and translucent. Increase the heat to medium, add the tomatoes, tomato paste, sugar, cumin, lime zest and juice and the cardamom and continue to cook for another 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the wine, 1 1/2 cups/350 milliliters water and 1/4 teaspoon salt and bring to a gentle simmer. Cook for 20 minutes, turning the heat down if the sauce bubbles too much, and stirring once in a while.
While the sauce is simmering, make the fish koftas: Add fish, pistachios, herbs, lime zest, chile and egg to a bowl with 3 tablespoons potato flour and 1/8 teaspoon salt and mix together well. Grease your hands with a little oil and roll the mix into approximately 12 golf-sized balls (about 1 1/2 to 1 3/4 ounces/45 to 50 grams each), applying pressure to compact them as you go. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons/25 grams flour to a plate and roll each ball in the flour so they are coated.
Heat vegetable oil in a large, nonstick saucepan over medium-high heat. Once hot, add the fish balls and cook for about 5 minutes, turning throughout until all sides are golden-brown and crisp. (Remove the sauce from the heat and set aside if it finishes before you finish the koftas.)
After the sauce has been cooking for 20 minutes, transfer the balls into the sauce, drizzling over some of the frying oil (or return the sauce to medium heat). Cover the pan with the lid and cook for 4 minutes, until hot.
Remove the lid and scatter the herbs and the remaining fresh chile over the top, then drizzle with the reserved garlic and chile oil. Serve hot, with lime juice added to taste, or with lime wedges alongside.
Notes
https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1019307-fish-koftas-in-tomato-and-cardamom-sauce
6 Comments
Lydia Filgueras
May 31, 2018 at 11:20 amYou caught my interest with the tomato and cardamom sauce, but knowing it’s an Ottolenghi recipe makes me want to try it even more. Fresh mackerel is a pretty fish, with blue skin and black mottling. I like the flavor, both tinned and fresh.
Shirley@EverOpenSauce
June 4, 2018 at 10:58 amI love to find these fishes in the market.
MyKitchenInHalfCups
June 1, 2018 at 1:53 pmThis is glorious! I do enjoy Ottolenghi, just reading is books is wonder, cooking the recipes like this is a marvel.
Shirley@EverOpenSauce
June 4, 2018 at 10:57 amI share the same reaction when it comes to Ottolengi’s recipes.
Diane Zwang
June 4, 2018 at 7:53 pmGreat post. I love Ottolenghi’s recipies. I recently got out my Jerusalem cookbook but this recipe looks good.
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