This easy fish fillet recipe is a little treat from the shores of the Mediterranean in Egypt. Spiced fish fillets cooked in a sauce of fresh tomatoes and peppers. A one-skillet dinner that comes together in 30 minutes!
Most people who are familiar with shakshuka only think of it as the popular North African breakfast–eggs poached in a sauce of fresh tomatoes, peppers and a number of Middle Eastern spices.
But to the people of Port Said and Alexandria, Egypt’s Mediterranean cities, shakshuka is more of a cooking method than in it is a specific dish. There, they also have saucy seafood and fish shakshuka dinners.
The spices I use in this fish fillet recipe are slightly different from what’s in the egg dish; still, the fish fillets are cooked similarly in the spicy fresh tomato sauce, shakshuka-style. And mainly because of its dense, flaky texture, I decided to use cod here.
This light, yet hearty fish fillet dinner is best served in bowls, with lots of the shakshuka sauce and Lebanese rice or your favorite crusty bread, challah or pita.
Here is the step-by-step for today’s fish fillet recipe:
Scroll down for the ingredient list and print-friendly recipe
If you plan to serve this fish fillet with rice, make the Lebanese rice according to this recipe (this step is optional, you can also serve this fish fillet with bread)
In a small bowl, combine the coriander, sumac, cumin, dill and turmeric to make the spice mix. Set aside until needed.
In a large, deep skillet (with a cover like this one) heat 2 tbsp olive oil. Saute the onions for 2 minutes then add the garlic and jalapeno. Cook on medium-high, stirring regularly, until fragrant and golden in color, about 2 more minutes.
Now add the tomatoes and only 1/2 of the spice mix (you will use the rest of the spice mix later). Add the tomato paste, lime juice, water, salt and pepper. Stir to combine.
Bring to a high simmer, then turn the heat down to medium-low. Cover and cook the tomato mixture for 10 more minutes; stir occasionally.
Meanwhile, season the fish fillets lightly with salt and pepper and coat on both sides with the remaining 1/2 of the spice mix.
Gently add the fish fillets to the tomato mixture, nestling the fish pieces nicely in it. Cook on medium-high briefly, then reduce the heat to medium.
Cover and cook for another 10-15 minutes until the fish is cooked through (it should be flaky). Remove from heat and top with the fresh parsley and mint leaves. Serve immediately in bowls with Lebanese rice or your favorite crusty bread.
Visit Our Shop to browse quality Mediterranean ingredients used in this recipe.
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Mediterranean Fish Fillet Recipe, Shakshuka Style
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
Description
An all star Mediterranean fish fillet recipe. Fish fillets prepared shakshuka-style in a sauce of fresh tomatoes, peppers and spices. 30 mins; tutorial
Ingredients
For Lebanese Rice see this recipe
For the Fish Fillet Recipe
- 2 tsp ground coriander
- 2 tsp sumac
- 1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp dry dill weed
- 1 tsp turmeric
- 1 large yellow onion (or sweet onion), chopped
- Extra virgin olive oil
- 8 garlic cloves, chopped
- 2 jalapeno peppers, chopped (or 1 green bell pepper if you prefer mild)
- 5 medium ripe tomatoes, diced or chopped
- 3 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 lime, juice of
- 1/2 cup water
- salt and pepper
- 2 lb cod fillet cut into large 4 to 6-ounce pieces
- 1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley for garnish
- 1 tbsp chopped fresh mint leaves for garnish
Instructions
- Make the Lebanese rice first, according to this recipe (optional)
- In a small bowl, combine the coriander, sumac, cumin, dill and turmeric to make the spice mix. Set aside until needed
- In a large, deep skillet (with a cover) heat 2 tbsp olive oil. Saute the onions for 2 minutes then add the garlic and jalapeno. Cook on medium-high, stirring regularly, until fragrant and golden in color, about 2 more minutes.
- Now add the tomatoes and only 1/2 of the spice mix (keeping the remainder of the spice mix for later use). Add the tomato paste, lime juice, water, salt and pepper. Stir to combine. Bring to a high simmer, then turn the heat down to medium-low. Cover and cook the tomato mixture for 10 more minutes; stir occasionally.
- Meanwhile, season the fish fillets lightly with salt and pepper and coat on both sides with the remaining 1/2 of the spice mix.
- Gently add the fish fillets to the tomato mixture, nestling the fish pieces nicely in it. Cook on medium-high briefly, then reduce the heat to medium. Cover and cook for another 10-15 minutes until the fish is cooked through (it should be flaky).
- Remove from heat and top with the fresh parsley and mint leaves. Serve immediately in bowls with Lebanese rice or your favorite crusty bread.
Notes
- You can use 1 green bell pepper in place for the jalapeno for a milder-tasting dish. You can also use a bit of both peppers, if you like.
- Visit Our Shop to browse olive oils and spices used in this recipe.
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 20 mins
- Category: Seafood
- Cuisine: Mediterranean
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Easy, healthy, tasty blend of flavours, family loved it.
Awesome! Thanks, Maree!
Hi. I would like to try this recipe tonight.. but i am wondering if i can you a tilapia fish?
Hi, Anie. Sure, I think that would work. Tilapia tends to be thinner than cod, so they may cook faster. Just keep an eye on them to avoid over-cooking.
A hit! Added to my Shabbat dinner rotation.
Easy and delicious!
This is a keeper! Made it today and everybody loved it. I didn’t have dill weed so I used tarragon instead, and Peruvian chillies instead of jalapeños. Ah! and I had buckets of cherry tomatoes which I used instead of the big ones. Thanks for this awsome recipe!
Thanks for sharing your adaptation, Gianinna!
So full of flavor and exciting! I used canned diced tomatoes, didn’t have fresh, but I don’t think it affected the end result. Served it with plain rice, again, didn’t have all the necessary ingredients, but it was still wonderful. Immediately sent the recipe to all my kids to try. So good! Love your site! Thank you!
I’ve got a similar recipe that I’ve been doing, but it is not “Mediterranean”, i.e. completely different spices. Looks like Suzy’s is going to become my” Go To” recipe for Shakshuka with Fish. Big hit here!
4 largish pieces of cod with 28 oz can peeled San Marzanos (my tomatoes are running really late this year); everything else per the recipe over basmati rice. Still cooking for 2, so we get 2 meals out of this, Hooray times two!
Loved this recipe too, and I concur — why are the tomatoes so slow this year? I have peppers galore but still waiting on ripe tomatoes
Hi Suzy,
I prepared this recipe last evening and it certainly was a winner!!! The flavour was beautiful, I followed your instructions precisely and imy results were great!! I used nice thick pieces of cod, and in the last few minutes of cooking I added couple of scallops and lovely gambas! The dish itself was definitely Restaurant quality both in taste and presentation,,that mint really sang! My husband loved the meal and woke up talking about it this morning,,Next time I will make the Lebanese Rice to go with it,,this time I used Basmati, that was what I already had, but I did have some Arabic breads from a Lebanese Bakery, which went very nice for dipping into the sauce. THANKS, your recipe is super!
Thanks for sharing! So glad you enjoyed the recipe!
I made both the rice and the fish and used exactly what was in the recipe. The rice is delicious and I have lots of left over for another day.
The fish was nice and flaky but the sauce (although it was spicy using only one whole jalapeno and one red pepper) did not have much flavor. I am not sure what to add to it , I was thinking some more salt and some sour cream to make it a bit less spicy and more creamy but not sure…. I could use some help.
Hi, Maureen. I’m sorry you fish did not have much flavor. The only thing I can think of is maybe the spices are not fresh enough? Sometimes, if the spices are old, they go stale and loose their punch. You can also always add more of the spices you enjoy to kick it up a bit. Hope that helps!
Very excited about this dish!
Have always wanted to try Shakshuka. Very excited to know there are other variations, as we are off eggs. Glad we can now try a dish I’ve been curious about!
Hope you enjoy it!
Try Googling “Tunisian Shakshuka With Shrimp” for another variation. It’s a New York Times recipe & has eggs. I’ve done it without the eggs, and it turned out great.
This recipe (these recipes* I made the rice too) made it to my recipe box, which is an honor in my house! I had already mixed the spices before I read to only use half. I decided to use the full amount and was not disappointed. The flavor was excellent. I had some tomato juice and “sauce” (the canned stuff) to use up in my fridge, along with a few Campari tomatoes. I used all of that instead of cracking a new quart of tomatoes, and it turned out just fine (I did hold on the water). I didn’t add lime, parsley, or mint which would have been excellent additions, I just didn’t have any on hand. I used peperina pasta because again, it’s what I had. The rice was excellent too, especially with the toasted pine nuts. Thanks for sharing!
My pleasure, Amy! So glad you enjoyed it!!
Lacks an essence, too much lime killed the entire recipe. Drizzle it.
Can you please tell me if you used fresh or dried dill weed?
Either would work here, Kate!
Beautiful, lite, flavorful- DIVINE. This recipe is so wonderful yet simple – we followed directions and it was foolproof. We plan to add gulf shrimp and scallops next time. Thank you for your wonderful recipes. I am sharing your blog witu all my friends & family. Cheers!
Awesome! Thanks, Meg!
Hi Suzy!! Made this tonight. Only change is I doubled it! Big Hit!! Delish! Thank you se much!!
I made this with cod fish as per your recipe and it was very delicious! Thank you! I am glad I didn’t use salmon as it would have been too strong a fish for this recipe. Love your recipes.
Thanks, Lucy!!
i have salmon at home, can i make this with salmon?
Hi Suzie,
What can I substitute for cod fish? Will Salmon work?
Hi, Lucy! I prefer a mild-tasting white fish fillet in this one. If you don’t want to use cod, halibut, sea bass or sole would be other great options. Salmon might work as well… I’ve just never tried it with this particular recipe, so it’s hard for me to advice.
I’ve made this many times with salmon, which is our favorite fish. It’s delicious! The salmon has a stronger taste than white fish but the flavor of the sauce can totally stand up to it.