Fish Stew with Onions and Saffron ~ Syria, Egypt & Lebanon

[Twitchin Kitten]

An old Arab dish, popular in Syria, Lebanon and Egypt. It is very lemony, and sometimes saffron is replaced by using turmeric. All kinds of fish can be used. Server with plain rice, or rice with vermicelli. *(we used to call it rice and worms as kids!)

Yahknit Samak bel Zafaran
Fish Stew with Onions and Saffron

Ingredients:

2 onions, cut in half and sliced
4 Tbsp olive oil
2 - 4 cloves garlic, crushed
Juice of 2 - 3 lemons
1/4 tsp crushed saffron threads or powdered saffron (*saffron is hard to find and VERY expensive, you can replace this with turmeric if you can't use saffron)
Salt and white pepper
2 pounds skinned fish fillets or fish steaks of any sort - your choice of fish!

Fry the onions in 2 Tbsp of the oil until golden. Add the garlic, and just as it begins to color, add the lemon juice, saffron, a little salt and about 1 cup water. Simmer for 10 - 15 minutes.

Fry the fish pieces very briefly in a skillet filmed with oil over high heat, turning them over once, until lightly colored but still uncooked inside. Lift them out, drain on paper and put them in the pan with the onion sauce.

Simmer, covered over very low heat so that the liquid barely trembles, until the fish is done - about 3 - 5 minutes for fillets or up to 10 minutes for steaks.

Serves 4 - 6

Variation:
For samak bi loomi, a version from the Gulf States, use 3 Tbsp ground dried limes instead of lemon, turmeric instead of saffron plus 1 tsp crushed cardamom seeds.