A Fish Called Parrot (17 August 2010)

For the last couple of days we haven’t cooked anything worthwhile to post. It’s been an unusually quiet week for the LazyCook kitchen but here we are coming back with a fish recipe from Jamie’s i-phone application! It is fast (supposed to be 20 minutes) and fun to prepare and cook especially if you are one in the kitchen (one Lazy Cook is coming back tomorrow). So, I went to Organic supermarket just next to my office aiming to find a white meat fish like hammour (similar to fenerbaligi) or sea bass but they were only selling salmon, tuna and the only white meat fish was a fish called parrot. I decided to give it a try and bought some fresh coriander and red chilies as well.

Coriander stalks, chilies (in my case I think I added a bit too much but in the end it had a pleasant spiciness) and garlic goes into the hot frying pan with olive oil. A few minutes later the canned tomato is added and when the sauce is thick enough, the fish went on top and is left for simmering until it is cooked.

In the meantime the zucchini, red onion and a little garlic are fried with olive oil to be added to the quick cook couscous. Here the key is to leave the couscous to rest for 5 minutes (covered with a film) after adding the water before stirring it with a fork (it says this on the package anyway!). And with this recipe the additional vegetables enhance the taste more than you anticipate.

And voila! A large spoon of couscous with the seasoned parrot fillet and the red sauce on top with sprinkle of coriander leaves. I would have a glass of pinot grigio if only we’ve had it. But I was happy with a glass of sparkling water filled with ice and lemon slices as well. By the way, parrot tastes like hammour and the texture is even softer.

And ‘A Kind of Blue’, a strong espresso with a small chocolate and a good book to conclude this quiet evening.


www.jamieoliver.com/20-minute-meals