This recipe is dear to my heart. There are certain dishes that move my soul – they smell like family and home. This is one of those dishes. I grew up on this fish. I remember sitting at my grandmother Tamar’s kitchen table and watching her make this. Every time I walk into my aunt Fanny’s home in Israel, it smells like this fish. And every Friday evening and holiday that I used to come home from New York, it would be on the stove top. The whole house smelled of it.
Eaten as an appetizer in my family, the pan would be left on the stove and whoever was serving it would yell out: “Who wants fish!?!” Then the follow up question, “Want a pepper!?!” And this happens every single time this fish is made.
It feels like a ‘Special Occasion’ dish, but in reality, it’s one of the most uncomplicated recipes that’s been passed down to me. Most every Sephardic Jew home in Israel creates a version of this fish. It’s like gumbo or paella in the sense that the dish is always the same at its core, but the ingredients, methods, and spice levels change from household to household. I’m sharing my mom’s version. Well, I added carrots; she doesn’t add carrots normally.
You can’t fail at making this fish. It’s very low in fat and pretty inexpensive depending on what kind of fish you choose. This is what my family uses: 1. Mom: Tilapia. 2. Aunt: Nile Perch. 3. G-ma: Tuna. It’s all good, honestly. Halibut, mullet, grouper, haddock, sea bass… Just find the freshest, and best-looking fish available in your market. It could be filleted, skin-on or off, steak… Whatever you love most. My mom taught me to use a food processor for the sauce. She loves a good short cut. As do I, as long as it doesn’t mess with the final flavor and quality, and in this case, it doesn’t. If you don’t want to use one, or don’t have one, give things a rough chop. This is a rustic dish and needs to look it.
And you obviously need some bread (or pita) for this sauce. That should go without saying. But there, I said it.