Baked Fish in Banana Leaves

By

A fusion of Moroccan and Omani Flavours & Techniques

I have drawn this recipe’s inspiration from the traditional Omani cuisine’s use of banana leaves to cover the meats when making Shewa but have chosen to use this technique in making fish instead of a meat dish. I have used the mutual spices used by both the Omani & Moroccan Cuisines to flavor the fish, also aromatizing it with fresh coriander (you can use parsley if you prefer, but coriander pairs better with these flavours). All together, make this dish a delicious and highly aromatic Moroccan/Omani fusion.

This Recipe is very healthy and  diabetic friendly. It is impressive in presentation, as it is always nice to serve your food looking different from what everyone expects. It is Delicious and definitely takes out boredom from your recipe repertoire!

Ingredients

Serves: 4 Cook Time: 25-40 mins
  • 4 Medium, whole sea bass, cleaned and skin scored
  • Freshly cracked black pepper to taste
  • A pinch of Saffron
  • 1 tbsp cumin powder
  • 1 tsp DS Fish & Seafood Spice Mix
  • 1/2 tbsp ground coriander
  • 2 tbsp DS Premium Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil
  • juice and zest of 2 lemons
  • 2 lemons, sliced
  • 4bay leaves
  • 1 small bunch coriander, roughly chopped
  • 2 white onions, sliced into thin disks

In a small bowl, mix the olive oil, lemon juice, cumin powder, ground coriander and DS fish & seafood spice mix. Sprinkle with freshly cracked black pepper and add the saffron. Add 1/2 the quantity of the chopped coriander and mix well.

Rub this mixture all over the fish on both sides. Make sure to also rub the inside and into the scored flesh. Leave the fish to marinade in this mixture for 15-20 minutes.

Individually, place a marinated fish over a banana leaf and fill it with the chopped coriander, sliced onion and lemon disks as well as a bay leaf (see the video above). Cover the fish fully with the banana leaves as shown in the video.

Place the wrapped fish over a baking sheet and roast for 25-45 minutes (depending the size of the fish) or until cooked through and the flesh flakes easily.

Serve hot alongside lentil Pilaf, roasted potatoes/vegetables or Salad.

Did you know that wrapping meats with plant leaves is an ancient technique used by our ancestors since the beginning of cooking?! Yes plant leaves were the earliest forms of what now is foil paper and even baking paper. Since the ancient Greeks, to the Pharos, and ancient Aramaic people and the ancient Arabs… all knew that subjecting meat to heat without cover leads to dry meats. They all knew that wrapped meats produced juicier and more tender meats. From then on we built on this technique and moved to making covers for cooking pots, then to foil paper, then greased baking paper…etc.

In Palestinian cuisine as in Greek Cuisine wrapping meats and other foods is more commonly done using grape leaves. Makes sense, as each area will use the leaves available to them. I make a fantastic baked sardines dish, where the sardines are each wrapped in grape leaves. It is just to die for. Also wrapping cheese with grape leaves then baking it makes a succulent mezze.

Do you guys use specific plant leaves in the cooking of your cuisines’ traditional recipes? Which leaves do you normally use? Inspire us and leave us a comment, we love to learn from you 🙂

You may also like…