FISH KOFTAS IN TOMATO AND CARDAMOM SAUCE
Serves 4
Total time: About 1 1/2 hours
For the sauce:
1/3 cup olive oil
8 garlic cloves, finely
chopped
3 green chili 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 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 1/2 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)
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons
dry white wine 2 tablespoons finely chopped cilantro or coriander leaves, for serving
2 tablespoons finely chopped dill, for serving
For the fish koftas:
4 mackerel fillets (from 2 roughly 1-pound fish), skin and pin bones removed, flesh roughly chopped into 3/4-inch/2-centimeter pieces (for about 12 ounces of chopped fish)
About 5 ounces drained tinned sardines in olive oil, roughly chopped 1 heaping tablespoon pistachios, roughly chopped
1/2 cup/10 grams loosely packed roughly chopped fresh dill 1 loosely packed cup 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 chili pepper (such as serrano), finely chopped
1 egg, beaten 5 tablespoons potato
flour, divided 3 tablespoons vegetable
oil
1. Start with the sauce: In a large sauté pan (choose one that has a lid), heat olive oil, garlic, half the sliced chili 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 chili and garlic) and set aside.
2. 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 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.
3. While the sauce is simmering, make the fish koftas: Add fish, pistachios, herbs, lime zest, chili 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 golfsized balls (about 1 1/2 to 1
3/4 ounces each), applying pressure to compact them as you go. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons flour to a plate and roll each ball in the flour so they are coated.
4. Heat vegetable oil in a large, nonstick saucepan over mediumhigh 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.)
5. 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.
6. Remove the lid and scatter the herbs and the remaining fresh chili over the top, then drizzle with the reserved garlic and chili oil. Serve hot, with lime juice added to taste, or with lime wedges alongside.