Fuck's sake. I love Ottolenghi but this is credulous logrolling nonsense. It doesn't even look nice.
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And yet again, the entire recipe is a hot sloppy mess from end to end.
(Serves 4) 78p a portion
300g rice, 12p
1 tbsp oil, 3p
1 onion, diced, 11p
1 tsp cumin, 5p
1 tsp paprika, 5p
1 vegetable or chicken stock cube, crumbled 2p
4 white fish fillets, £1.68
200g tinned mandarin segments, 27p
400g chopped tomatoes, 35p
Handful of sultanas, 6p
Few sprigs of mint or coriander, 8p
150g spinach, 23p
Put the rice on to cook.
HELPFUL. Any instructions as to how to do this? How long to cook for?
Warm the oil over a medium heat and saute the onions in the spices and stock for a few minutes.
Stock? What stock? I only see a stock cube in the ingredients. Do you make up the stock cube in water? If so, how much. And if you're adding stock, you're not sauteeing the onions, are you? "What does sauté mean? The word is culinary-speak for browning or cooking a food quickly over fairly high heat, using a small amount of fat in a wide, shallow pan"
When the onions start to soften, add the fish and pour the mandarins, their juice and the chopped tomatoes over the top. Add the sultanas, chopped herbs and spinach, and bring to the boil for a minute.
Why put the spinach and fresh herbs in at this stage? It only needs a minute or two to wilt. And why put the fish on the bottom??? Why boil it for a minute?
Reduce to a vigorous simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally to stop the sauce from sticking to the pan.
Fuck sake. Boiling white fish and spinach for 15 minutes? Vile.
Meanwhile, check the rice is cooked and remove from the heat.
HELPFUL. At least it's a decent sized portion per person.
Break the fish into chunks and stir through before serving over the rice.
Not a tagine. Not even close. Just fishy slop.
Yesterday’s guest.
and a wedding later, I come to you with these questions: 