Moroccan Fish with Chickpeas and Peppers with homemade tomato paste

👨‍🍳 Method

For the homemade tomato paste ✓ Homemade · or skip – back to store-bought

1. 1
   Wash the tomatoes, remove the cores and quarter each tomato.

   KnifeCutting board
2. 2
   Put the tomatoes, the salt and half of the olive oil in a wide pot, cover and cook over medium heat about 20 minutes, until the tomatoes soften and release their liquid.

   StoveWide, shallow pot
3. 3
   Pass the tomatoes and their liquid through a food mill or sieve and return the purée to the pot: the skins and seeds stay behind.

   Food millorFine sieve
4. 4
   Cook uncovered about an hour at a lively simmer, stirring now and then, until the purée reduces by half.

   StoveWooden spoon

   💡The paste burns easily as it dries: stir and scrape the bottom and edges, and once it is thick, don't walk away.
5. 5
   Preheat the oven to 110°C (230°F).

   Oven

   💡Put things in the oven only once it's reached temperature, after the heating light has gone off: an oven that hasn't reached temperature changes baking times, and the bake burns outside or stays underbaked.
6. 6
   Grease a wide baking dish with the rest of the olive oil and pour in the purée in a thin layer. Dry in the oven about 3 hours, stirring and scraping the edges every 30 minutes, until the paste is thick, sticky and brick red.

   OvenBaking sheetSilicone spatula
7. 7
   Let the paste cool.

   Jar

For the Tomato sauce

1. 8
   Sprinkle half the salt over the fish pieces and keep it in the fridge while you make the sauce.
2. 9
   In a bowl, mix the tomatoes, olive oil, garlic, hot paprika, paprika and cumin.

   StoveWide, shallow pot
3. 10
   Add and fry 3 minutes, until the peppers soften.

   Stove

   💡Add by cooking time: what needs long (onion, carrot, meat) goes in first, and what burns fast (garlic, dry spices) goes in last, only until fragrant.
4. 11
   Add the tomato paste, cumin, paprika, hot paprika and turmeric and stir about a minute, until fragrant.

   Stove

   💡A gentle simmer, not a boil: a hard boil dries the food out and clouds it, a slow simmer cooks it evenly.

To assemble

1. 12
   Add the red pepper and chickpeas to the sauce and cook another 5 minutes.

   Stove
2. 13
   Place the fish pieces in the sauce, skin side up, and spoon some of the sauce over it. Cover and cook over medium-low heat 15–18 minutes, until the fish flakes easily.

   StoveLid

   💡Don't overcook: overcooked fish dries out and falls apart in the sauce.
3. 14
   Taste the sauce and add the rest of the salt as needed.
4. 15
   Turn off the heat and sprinkle the cilantro over the top.
5. 16
   Serve with the lemon wedges and fresh challah for dipping in the sauce.