"Chermoula is a North African spice paste, the perfect marinade for fish and vegetables, and it's easy to make," explains food writer Rukmini Iyer.
Chermoula roasted tuna recipe with peppers, chickpeas and raisins
"Traditionally you'd use coriander, but I love using fresh mint. I'd happily eat this at a restaurant: a wonderful combination of flavours and textures."
Chermoula roasted tuna from The Roasting Tin Around The World by Rukmini Iyer
Ingredients:
(Serves 4)
To make the chermoula:
45g fresh mint, leaves only
1 1⁄2tsp ground cumin
1 1⁄2tsp ground paprika
4 cloves of garlic, peeled
3tbsp olive oil
A pinch of sea salt
1 preserved lemon or 1⁄2 lemon, zest only, and 1tsp white vinegar
3 colourful pointy peppers, halved
1 medium aubergine, cut into eighths
1 red onion, cut into 1cm slices
300g cherry tomatoes, with their vines
1 x 400g tin of chickpeas, drained
4 nice thick tuna steaks
100g raisins
100ml warm water
A handful of flaked almonds
To serve:
A handful of fresh mint
Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 180°C fan/200°C/gas 6.
2. Tip all the chermoula ingredients into a blender and blitz until combined. Taste and add a little more salt as needed.
3. Tip the peppers, aubergine, onion, cherry tomatoes with their vines and the chickpeas into a roasting tin large enough to more or less hold the vegetables in one layer. Mix through three-quarters of the chermoula, making sure to coat the vegetables evenly, then transfer to the oven and roast for 40 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, spread the remaining chermoula all over the tuna steaks, then return them to the fridge to marinate. Don't wash the blender – tip in the raisins and water, stir and set aside.
5. Once the vegetables have had 40 minutes, tip in the raisins and liquid. Remove the tomato vines, squash down the tomatoes, then lay the tuna over the vegetables. Scatter over the almonds, then return to the oven for 10–12 minutes, until the tuna is just cooked and the almonds are crisp.
6. Scatter over the mint and serve.
The Roasting Tin Around The World by Rukmini Iyer, photography by David Loftus, is published by Square Peg, priced GBP 16.99. Available now.