Date-stuffed salmon, Fassi-style, with couscous and coriander broth

(Serves 6)

6 x 175g rectangular pieces of salmon, cut from the fillet and skinned
1 tablespoon ras el hanout – see Cook’s notes below
Gozo sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper
2 or 3 shallots, peeled and finely chopped
18 dates, stoned and chopped
1 tablespoon orange flower water
2 tablespoons fresh mint, finely chopped
Grated zest of a lemon, and
2 to 3 teaspoons lemon juice

Using a sharp knife, make a pocket in each salmon piece to hold the stuffing. Season the fish all over lightly with a generous pinch of ras el hanout, salt and pepper.

Gently fry the shallots in oil until soft, and then stir in the remaining spice mixture. Cook for three or four minutes, remove from the heat, and then add the remaining ingredients. When cool, spoon the mixture in the salmon pockets.

Prepare the couscous:
250g couscous
3 tomatoes, seeded and chopped
50g spinach or rocket, the spinach leaves rolled and shredded, the rocket roughly chopped
1 tablespoon mint leaves, finely chopped
2 to 3 tablespoons lightly toasted pine nuts or flaked almonds
Seasoning

Moisten the couscous with a few tablespoons of water, and when that has been absorbed, break up the couscous with your fingers, and put it in a muslin-lined sieve or colander to steam over hot water. When the couscous is done, stir in the rest of the ingredients.

To finish the salmon, you need:
25g unsalted butter
450ml fish stock, made from the salmon bones
A small bunch of fresh coriander

Heat the butter in a large frying pan, and in it place the fish, top side down. Turn the pieces over after a minute, and then continue cooking on the skin side for 5 to 8 minutes, depending on thickness. You can cover the pan so that the fish steams a little. Remove the fish, and keep it warm.

Raise the heat under the frying pan, and in it reduce the stock by a third to a half. Spoon a base of couscous into large soup plates, and place the fish fillet on top.

Arrange several sprigs of coriander around the bowl, and pour a little boiling stock over it. The salmon can be garnished with more coriander, or toasted flaked almonds.

Cook’s notes:
Ras el hanout is the famous Moroccan spice mixture. It is almost impossible to say what goes into it, as each spice merchant has his own jealously guarded formula.

It may contain 20 ingredients; it may contain 40 or even a hundred. Cinnamon, cloves, cumin, coriander, allspice, aniseed, ginger, cayenne, cassia, cardamom, nutmeg, orris root (from the iris) saffron, pepper will certainly be in it, but there might also be dried rose petals and orange peel, and who knows in what proportion. It is worth sniffing out and buying several versions.

For a homemade ras el hanout mixture I would include allspice, wild fennel seeds, cardamom, cayenne, cloves, cumin, coriander, ginger, nutmeg and black pepper and even some dried flowers such as fennel or lavender; where possible, for the freshest flavour, buy whole spices and grind them yourself before mixing and storing in a glass jar in a cool, dark place. You will be able to use the mixture in tagine and couscous recipes.

Couscous is the staple of Morocco and its neighbours. Technically a pasta, not a cereal, it is made from grains of semolina that have been dampened, rolled, and coated with finer wheat flour. This enlarges the individual grains and keeps them separate in cooking.

The couscous that is available commercially has already undergone this process mechanically and simply needs moistening (which allows the grains to swell and soften), then steaming.

Couscous has given its name to a wonderful dish composed not only of the soft, tender mound of yellow ‘grain’, but the whole dish.

This includes a fragrant stew of vegetables, which might or might not contain meat, usually lamb, in a simple, homely version of couscous. A grander version will include the grain, the stew and a variety of grilled meats, such as lamb sausages, meatballs, lamb kebabs and chicken. This is often referred to as couscous royale.

There is a special pot called a couscoussière, which allows the vegetables to be cooked in the pot, on the stove, and the grains to be steamed above them.

Couscous can also be used in a salad, moistened, then mixed with herbs, onions, chopped tomato and olive oil. In Morocco, couscous is also served as a dessert, enriched with melted butter, dried fruit and almonds, and flavoured with cinnamon and orange flower water.