Baked Fish Cutlets with Tahini

I love Lebanese cooking but very rarely eat it, let alone cook it. There just don't seem to be that many Lebanese restaurants around, that, or I'm looking in the wrong places. I love these little women's weekly cookbooks, they have really good but simple recipes in them and the instructions are always very clear. This recipe called for cutlets, but I only had a fillet in the freezer so I used them instead.



I served this with Turkish rice, which I thought I'd ruined but was actually yummy, and salad. I have to say the fish wasn't a success, I have discovered that I actually don't like the taste of tahini by itself. I don't mind it in hummus, but not on its own, so I ended up eating this with a huge dollop of sour cream to take away some of the tahini taste. The onions, however were lovely and sweet and complemented the fish really well. I am off to see Phedre tonight at the National Theatre, which I have been told is very good, so I am looking forward to that.

Baked Fish Cutlets with Tahini (from The Australian Women's Weekly Lebanese Cooking)
(Serves 4)

60ml olive oil
2 large brown onion, sliced finely
4 firm white fish cutlets
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
125 ml tahini
2tbsp lemon juice
lemon wedges
2 tbsp finely chopped fresh parsley

Heat the oil in a large frying pan; cook onion, covered, stirring occasionally, about 15mins or until very soft and lightly browned.

Place the fish cutlets in a single layer in a shallow ovenproof dish; sprinkle with salt and pepper. Combine tahini with lemon juice in a small bowl; beat with a fork until smooth.

Drizzle tahini mixture over the fish and top with the onion mixture. Bake uncovered in a hot oven for about 15 mins or until the fish is just cooked.

Serve with lemon wedges, sprinkled with parsley.