My father doesn’t like the smell of fish, and he also had a childhood phobia of fish bones.
My mother never argued.
The result is that I ate fish for the first time when I was in my 20’s!
I don’t want to say that we didn’t eat well during my childhood. On the contrary, my mother is a brilliant cook and people say she makes the best Gefilte fish (fish balls made from a mixture of ground deboned fish).
I stopped eating gefilte fish when I was a kid after my grandmother asked me to buy a fresh fish for the holiday dinner. In those days you would choose the fresh fish from the aquarium and few minutes later it would be chopped and wrapped in paper.
Ingredients
1 Lb Cod fish (or Grouper) cut into thick slices
3 – 4 medium size potatoes – sliced like a French fries
3 carrots – sliced like a French fries
½ cup of chickpea (before soaking) – soak over night and cook for 30 minutes before using
4 cloves crushed garlic
Bunch of parsley (or coriander – stronger aroma)
2 ½ cups of hot water
1 tablespoon paprika
1 tablespoon cumin
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
5 tablespoon olive oil
Directions
1. Heat the oil in a large wide saucepan; add the garlic and fry while stirring.
2. Add the potatoes and carrots and stir for 3-5 minutes. Add the cooked chickpeas and stir for one more minute.
3. At the same time – mix in a bowl: hot water, paprika, cumin, salt, pepper. Pour into the saucepan.
4. Bring to boil, cover and lower the heat. Cook for 20 minutes.
5. Take half of the vegetables out of the saucepan and put them into a bowl. Add the parsley evenly into the saucepan.
6. Carefully add the fish, cover with the vegetables from the bowl, and cook cover for 20 minutes.
7. While cooking, once in every few minutes, pour some of the sauce over the fish
8. Serve with rice or couscous.
